Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Goldman Sachs Tops Q3 Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.25% to 28751.55 while the NASDAQ rose 0.28% to 11,897.16. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.25% to 3,520.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 7,859,360 cases with around 215,910 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 7,239,380 confirmed cases and 110,580 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,113,620 COVID-19 cases with 150,990 deaths. In total, there were at least 38,195,650 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,087,340 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose 1.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Concho Resources Inc. CXO, up 11%, and Centennial Resource Development, Inc. CDEV, up 11%.

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares fell 0.1%.

Top Headline

Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.

Goldman Sachs reported quarterly earnings of $9.68 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $5.57 per share. The company posted sales of $10.78 billion, surpassing expectations of $9.46 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Interpace Biosciences, Inc. IDXG shares shot up 45% to $4.31. Interpace Biosciences said the Audit Committee investigation found billing and compliance complaints unsubstantiated.

Shares of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. MDRX got a boost, shooting 34% to $11.11 after the company agreed to sell its CarePort Health business to WellSky for $1.35 billion.

AnaptysBio, Inc. ANAB shares were also up, gaining 27% to $22.54 after Guggenheim upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy and announced a price target of $36 per share. AnaptysBio yesterday reported positive topline data from GALLOP Phase 2 clinical trial of imsidolimab in moderate-to-severe generalized pustular psoriasis.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. CYCN shares tumbled 46% to $3.8525 following a couple of clinical trial updates from the company. Cyclerion said its mid-stage investigational asset olinciguat did not show adequate activity to support further internal clinical development of it as a potential treatment for sickle cell disease. Separately, the company announced positive results from a Phase 1 translational pharmacology study of IW-6463, a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator being developed for CNS disorders.

Shares of Enzo Biochem, Inc. ENZ were down 17% to $2.16. Enzo Biochem reported fourth-quarter revenues of $19.5 million, down 6.6% year-over-year, while on a GAAP basis, the net loss narrowed from 11 cents per share to 7 cents per share.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. AMC was down, falling 17% to $2.95. The world’s biggest chain of theaters - AMC Entertainment is mulling options for respite from debt, that includes potential bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $40.05, while gold traded up 0.4% to $1,902.60.

Silver traded up 0.8% Wednesday to $24.320 while copper rose 0.4% to $3.0560.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.3%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 declined 0.1%, French CAC 40 slipped 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%.

Consumer prices in Spain fell 0.4% year-over-year in September after declining 0.5% in the previous month.

Economics

The Producer Price Index rose 0.4% for September, versus analysts’ expectations for a 0.2% increase.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 6:00 p.m. ET.