Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; MSC Industrial Misses Q3 Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.56% to 26932.84 while the NASDAQ rose 0.85% to 8,211.08. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.59% to 2,997.17.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose 1.6% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included McDermott International, Inc. MDR, up 14%, and Gran Tierra Energy Inc. GTE, up 7%.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell 0.1%.

Top Headline

MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc MSM reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter and issued weak Q4 forecast.

The company reported third-quarter earnings of $1.44 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.5. The company reported sales of $866.5 million, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $882 million.

MSC Industrial expects Q4 earnings of $1.21 to $1.27 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $1.48 per share. The company projects sales of $835 million to $851 million.

Equities Trading UP

Valeritas Holdings, Inc. VLRX shares shot up 35% to $3.98 r after the company on Tuesday afternoon announced its V-Go wearable insulin device has been adopted on multiple managed care formularies.

Shares of VirTra, Inc. VTSI got a boost, shooting up 23% to $2.96 after receiving follow-on order from the US Department of Homeland Security for Customs and Border Protection.

Vislink Technologies, Inc. VISL shares were also up, gaining 337% to $7.25 after the company won a $2.8 million US army contract for handheld intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance receiver devices.

Equities Trading DOWN

Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMRX shares tumbled 29% to $4.8202 after the company cut its FY19 adj. EBITDA guidance along with its restructuring plan.

Shares of Camber Energy, Inc. CEI were down 32% to $5.05 after surging 268.47% on Tuesday.

Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI was down, falling 11% to $20.97 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3% to $59.54, while gold traded up 0.8% to $1,411.70.

Silver traded up 0.9% Wednesday to $15.275, while copper rose 1.9% to $2.6745.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.3%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.2%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.1%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.5% while UK shares rose 0.1%.

Economics

U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.4% for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4% increase.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in Saint Louis, Missouri at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.