Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up 1%; James River Group Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.54% to 26,306.49 while the NASDAQ rose 0.88% to 7,892.59. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.72% to 2,913.99.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares climbed 1.3% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intelligent Systems Corporation (NYSE: INS), up 4%, and MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), up 4%.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares rose by just 0.2%.

Top Headline

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: 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 (NASDAQ: AOBC) shares shot up 12% to $6.72 after Craig-Hallum upgraded the company's stock from Hold to Buy and announced a $10 price target.

Shares of Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN) surged 10% to $1.40 after the company reported a $2 million buyback.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ: PRQR) was up, rising 17% to $6.96.

Equities Trading DOWN

James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: JRVR) shares tumbled 20% to $38.94 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 (NYSE: TMST) were down 12% to $5.16 after TimkenSteel named Terry Dunlap as interim chief executive.

Viela Bio, Inc. . (NASDAQ: VIE) was down, falling 10% to $19.00. Viela Bio said it has entered a collaboration agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for the development and commercialization of its inebilizumab, a humanized anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody, in nine Asian regions for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder as well as other potential future indications.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1% to $53.14, while gold traded up 0.6% to $1,512.90.

Silver traded up 0.6% Wednesday to $17.81, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.567.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.43%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.53%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.51%. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1.08%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.68% while UK shares rose 0.33%.

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.

U.S. crude supplies rose 2.927 million barrels for the week ended October 4, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a gain of 1.413 million barrels. Gasoline supplies fell 1.213 million barrels, while distillate supplies fell 3.943 million barrels last week.

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.