Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up Over 3%; FedEx Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.71 percent to 23,844.12 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.57 percent to 6,822.59. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.69 percent to 2,563.72.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the energy shares climbed 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Teekay Corporation. TK up 12 percent, and Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P CLMT up 12 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares rose by just 0.1 percent.

Top Headline

General Mills, Inc. GIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.

General Mills reported quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $0.82. The company reported quarterly sales of $4.411 billion which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $4.52 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ADIL shares got a boost, shooting up 19 percent to $3.5246 after the company announced an amendment to its license agreement with the University of Virgia Licensing & Ventures Group. The company must commence Phase 3 trial of AD04 for AUD in 2019.

Shares of Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO shot up 16 percent to $23.05 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.

ABM Industries Incorporated ABM shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $31.64. ABM posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.58 per share on sales of $1.65 billion.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

Surface Oncology, Inc. SURF shares dropped 32 percent to $5.01 after the company late Tuesday reported a 'significant' reduction in investment in the SRF231 program.

Shares of FedEx Corporation FDX were down 10 percent to $166.64. FedEx reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, but lowered its FY2019 earnings guidance.

FTS International, Inc. FTSI was down, falling around 14 percent to $7.11. Credit Suisse downgraded FTS International from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $15 to $8.

 

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.37 percent to $47.80 while gold traded up 0.41 percent to $1,258.70.

Silver traded up 0.98 percent Wednesday to $14.845, while copper rose 0.90 percent to $2.6885.

 

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.31 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 0.89 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.54 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.21 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.47 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.97 percent.

Economics

The MBA's index of mortgage application activity for the latest week is schedule for release at 7:00 a.m. ET.

The U.S. current-account deficit increased to $124.8 billion in the third quarter, versus a revised $101.2 billion in the second quarter.

Existing home sales rose 1.9 percent at an annual rate of 5.32 million for November. However, economists were expecting a 5.15 million rate.

Domestic crude supplies declined 497,000 barrels for the week ended December 14, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts projected a drop of 2.48 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles gained 1.77 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles slipped 4.24 million barrels last week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.