Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Johnson & Johnson Hit With $8B Verdict In Risperdal Lawsuit

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.62% to 26327.02 while the NASDAQ rose 0.84% to 7,890.16. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.74% to 2,914.46.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares climbed 1.1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Tufin Software Technologies Ltd. TUFN, up 5%, and MoneyGram International, Inc. MGI, up 4%.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares rose by just 0.1%.

Top Headline

Johnson & Johnson JNJ is reaching deeper in its pockets to comply with the verdict of its second major lawsuit this month.

On Wednesday, a Philadelphia court ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $8 billion in damages to a Risperdal consumer who said the company had failed to warn of the drug’s risk of gynecomastia — breast development in males. The man had previously been awarded $680,000 for the same claims.

The USDA had approved the drug in 1993, but the plaintiffs claim Johnson & Johnson inappropriately marketed it for unauthorized use for children..


Equities Trading UP

American Outdoor Brands Corporation AOBC shares shot up 11% to $6.66 after Craig-Hallum upgraded the company's stock from Hold to Buy and announced a $10 price target.

Shares of Ocugen, Inc. OCGN surged 24% to $1.5853 after the company reported a $2 million buyback.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. PRQR was up, rising 20% to $7.11.

Equities Trading DOWN

James River Group Holdings, Ltd. JRVR shares tumbled 20% to $39.22 after the company announced the early cancellation of insurance policies issued to its largest customer scheduled for Q3. The stock was also downgraded from a couple firms and lowered their price target.

Shares of TimkenSteel Corporation TMST were down 10% to $5.26 after TimkenSteel named Terry Dunlap as interim chief executive.

iRobot Corporation. IRBT was down, falling 8% to $53.01 after Raymond James downgraded the company's stock from Market Perform to Underperform.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.9% to $53.10, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,507.30.

Silver traded up 0.7% Wednesday to $17.825, while copper rose 0.2% to $2.5725.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.5%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.5%. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.7% while UK shares rose 0.6%.

Economics

Job openings fell to 7.05 million in August, compared to 7.17 million in the previous month, the Labor Department reported.

U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.2% for August, 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.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak in Kansas City, Missouri at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George will speak in Kansas City, Missouri at 11:00 a.m. ET.

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