Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Surges Over 100 Points; EZCORP Shares Plummet

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.63 percent to 21,445.42 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.93 percent to 6,203.79. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.75 percent to 2,437.60.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials shares rose by 1.44 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included Koppers Holdings Inc. KOP, Allegheny Technologies Incorporated ATI, and Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. SCHN.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares rose by just 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Korea Electric Power Corporation (ADR) KEP, down 1 percent, and FirstEnergy Corp. FE, down 1 percent.

Top Headline

General Mills, Inc. AVAV posted upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.

General Mills posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.73 on revenue of $3.81 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.71 on revenue of $3.75 billion.


Equities Trading UP

AirMedia Group Inc (ADR) AMCN shares shot up 7 percent to $2.46 after the company disclosed that it has entered into Amendment No. 3 for going private transaction.

Shares of United Microelectronics Corp (ADR) UMC got a boost, shooting up 11 percent to $2.34. UBS upgraded United Microelectronics from Neutral to Buy.

Spectranetics Corp SPNC shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $38.38. Koninklijke Philips NV (ADR) PHG announced plans to acquire Spectranetics for $38.50 per share.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

Global Medical REIT Inc GMRE shares dropped 9 percent to $8.93. Global Medical REIT priced its 3.5 million share common stock offering at $9 per share.

Shares of Meridian Waste Solutions Inc MRDN were down 31 percent to $1.65. Meridian Waste Solutions reported the pricing of its public offering.

EZCORP Inc EZPW was down, falling around 13 percent to $7.95. EZCORP reported a private offering of $125 million of convertible senior notes due 2024.

 

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.11 percent to $44.73 while gold traded up 0.22 percent to $1,249.60.

Silver traded up 0.74 percent Wednesday to $16.775, while copper rose 0.26 percent to $2.6685.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.49 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.86 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.19 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.09 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.62 percent.

Economics

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity declined 6.2 percent for the week ending June 23, 2017.

U.S. trade deficit fell 1.8 percent to $65.9 billion in May. Wholesale inventories rose 0.3 percent in May.

The pending home sales index declined 0.8 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.8 percent growth.

Domestic crude supplies increased 118,000 barrels for the week ended June 23, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 2.58 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles slipped 894,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 223,000 barrels last week..

The Treasury is set to auction 7-year bills at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneCommoditiesM&AGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMoversMid-Day Market Update
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