Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.08 percent to 17,529.52, while the NASDAQ climbed 0.19 percent to 4,663.79. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.35 percent to 2,029.71.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.85 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Natural Resource Partners LP NRP, up 9.4 percent, and Basic Energy Services, Inc. BAS, up 9.8 percent.
Healthcare shares dropped 0.42 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. ZIOP, down 9.5 percent, Affymetrix Inc. AFFX, off 9.1 percent.
Top Headline
UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company posted quarterly net earnings of $1.5 million, or $1.55 per share, compared to $1.4 million, or $1.41 per share, in the year-earlier period.
Its revenue climbed to $33.43 billion from $31.12 billion. However, analysts were eprojecting earnings of $1.50 per share on revenue of $33.11 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Netflix, Inc. NFLX shares shot up 17.35 percent to $409.31 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. According to the company’s shareholder letter, Netflix added a record 13.0 million new members, up from 11.1 million in 2013.
Shares of Insperity, Inc. NSP got a boost, shooting up 13.36 percent to $41.20 after Starboard reported a 13% stake in Insperity.
Cree, Inc. CREE shares were also up, gaining 4.78 percent to $33.88 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and issued a strong outlook.
Equities Trading DOWN
Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO shares tumbled 19.28 percent to $6.28 following the company's announcement that it had achieved record gold production but forecasts lower 2015 output.
Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA were down 8.79 percent to $4.83 on announcement of public offering of common stock.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALNY was down, falling 7.53 percent to $89.00 after the company priced 4,736,842 shares of common stock at $95 per share.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.58 percent to $47.67, while gold traded up 0.05 percent to $1,294.80.
Silver traded up 1.58 percent Wednesday to $18.24, while copper rose 0.62 percent to $2.61.
Eurozone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.61 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.50 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.64 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.41 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.87 percent while UK shares gained 1.63 percent.
Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity rose 14.20% in the week ended January 16, 2015.
US housing starts climbed 4.4% to an annual rate of 1.09 million in December, versus 1.04 million in November. However, economists were expecting a rate of 1.04 million in the month.
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index dropped 3.5% in the first two weeks of January versus December.
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