U.S. Stocks Are Trading Higher; ISM Services Index Rises Higher Than Expected

U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining more than 100 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.45% to 32,540.68 while the NASDAQ rose 1.43% to 12,525.90. The S&P also rose, gaining, 0.71% to 4,120.15.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 1.7% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Perion Network Ltd. PERI, up 7% and Golden Matrix Group, Inc. GMGI up 8%.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell 1.1%.

Top Headline

The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly rose to 56.7 in July, recording the highest level in three months, compared to June’s reading of 55.3. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 53.5.

Equities Trading UP

Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. PSTX shares shot up 108% to $5.05 as the company entered into a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Roche Holdings AG, focused on developing allogeneic CAR-T therapies directed to hematologic malignancies.

Shares of Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. APDN got a boost, shooting 76% to $4.9284 on continued strength after the company initiated analytical validation of a Company-developed, PCR-based monkeypox virus test that is specific for the genetic signature of the monkeypox virus.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. PING shares were also up, gaining 60% to $27.90 after the company announced it will be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $28.50 per share in cash. Ping Identity also posted a Q2 loss of $0.34 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

MDJM Ltd MDJH shares tumbled 37% to $2.15 after surging 90% on Tuesday.

Shares of MMTec, Inc. MTC were down 37% to $4.9191 after jumping over 390% on Tuesday. MMTEC recently regained compliance with NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement.

Alpha Capital Acquisition Company ASPC was down, falling 31% to $6.99. Alpha Capital Acquisition Company’s shareholders approved proposed merger transaction with Semantix.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $94.02, while gold traded down 1% to $1,772.20.

Silver traded down 1.3% to $19.87 on Wednesday while copper fell 1.1% to $3.4810.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6%. The German DAX climbed 0.6%, French CAC 40 surged 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.8%.

The annual producer inflation in the Eurozone dropped to 35.8% in June from 36.2% in May, while retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in June. Producer prices in the Eurozone increased 1.1% month-over-month in June, while services PMI was revised higher to 51.2 in July from a preliminary reading of 50.6.

The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI dropped to 47.7 in July from 51.3 in the previous month, while UK’s Composite PMI fell to 52.1 in July from 53.7 in June. The S&P Global French Composite PMI slipped to 51.7 in July from 52.5 a month ago, while German Composite PMI rose slightly to 48.1 in July from a preliminary level of 48. Germany reported a trade surplus of €7.7 billion in June.

Economics

The S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 47.3 in July versus a preliminary level of 47.

U.S. factory orders rose 2% month-over-month in June.

The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly rose to 56.7 in July, recording the highest level in three months, compared to June’s reading of 55.3. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 53.5.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 93,319,700 cases with around 1,055,970 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,067,140 cases and 526,470 deaths, while France reported over 33,921,340 COVID-19 cases with 152,280 deaths. In total, there were at least 584,458,570 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,424,210 deaths.