Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up 5%; Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 2.49% to 23218.45 while the NASDAQ rose 2.01% to 8045.99. The S&P also rose, gaining 2.32% to 2,721.21.

The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases around the world. U.S. reported a total of 399,900 coronavirus cases with around 12,900 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 146,600 coronavirus cases with 14,500 deaths, while Italy reported a total of at least 135,500 confirmed cases and 17,100 deaths. In total, there were at least 1,446,500 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 83,100 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed 2.6% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Oasis Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: OMP), up 13%, and NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE: NGL), up 13%.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares rose by just 0.8%.

Top Headline

RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views.

RPM International reported quarterly earnings of $0.23 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.21 per share. The company’s sales came in at $1.17 billion, missing the consensus view of $1.17 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Moleculin Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBRX) shares shot up 147% to $1.39 after it said that independent research found 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG)to reduce replication of coronavirus by 100% in the Vitro Testing. The company also noted the 2-DG is an active compound in its WP1122 Drug.

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE: EFC) got a boost, shooting 74% to $8.50 after the company issued business updates. Ellington Financial declared a dividend of $0.08 per common share. As of March 31, 2020, Ellington had unrestricted cash of around $130 million.

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYMT) shares were also up, gaining 51% to $2.02 after the company issued business updates. The company has cut its outstanding repurchase deal financing related to mortgage-backed securities to $150 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YI) shares tumbled 24% to $2.0583 after surging 275% on Tuesday.

Shares of Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NYSE: ZOM) were down 20% to $0.1340 after the company reported the pricing of $4 million public offering.

HEXO Corp. (NYSE: HEXO) was down, falling 25% to $0.5199 after the company disclosed a common stock and warrants shelf offering.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 5% to $24.81, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,687.50.

Silver traded down 1.3% Wednesday to $15.275, while copper fell 0.6% to $2.2595.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.36%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.42%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.53%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.62% while UK shares fell 0.85%.

Economics

U.S. crude production dropped by 600,000 barrels to 12.4 million barrels per day for the week ended April 3, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 8.4 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose 10.5 million barrels, while distillate supplies surged 476,000 barrels last week.

The Treasury is set to auction 30-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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