Nasdaq Edges Higher; Abbott Laboratories Reports Upbeat Results

U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite turning higher on Wednesday.

The Dow traded down 0.23% to 33,899.20 while the NASDAQ rose 0.16% to 12,172.92. The S&P 500, also rose, gaining, 0.04% to 4,156.70.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

• Utilities shares rose by 0.6% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Essential Utilities, Inc. WTRG, up 2%, and Cadiz Inc. CDZI, up 4%.
• In trading on Wednesday, communication services fell by 0.5%.

Top Headline

Abbott Laboratories ABT reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued guidance.

Abbott Laboratories reported Q1 FY23 adjusted EPS of $1.03, down 40.5% Y/Y, better than the consensus of $0.99. Q1 sales of $9.75 billion decreased 18.1% on a reported basis and 14.5% on an organic basis, beating the consensus of $9.64 billion.

Abbott reaffirmed FY23 adjusted EPS of $4.30-$4.50, versus consensus of $4.39.

Equities Trading UP

• VYNE Therapeutics Inc. VYNE shares shot up 33% to $4.16 after the company announced new preclinical data showing the effect of its novel pan-BET inhibitor, VYN201, in a preclinical model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
• Shares of China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. CJJD got a boost, shooting 78% to $1.2001 after the company announced the termination of its previously proposed registered direct offering.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation WAL shares were also up, gaining 21% to $39.40 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Allarity Therapeutics, Inc. ALLR shares dropped 41% to $0.6787 after the company announced pricing for its $7.5 million public offering.
• Shares of Femasys Inc. FEMY were down 23% to $0.9720 after the company announced a $3.9 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.
• Agrify Corporation AGFY was down, falling 35% to $0.1948 after the company announced it entered into agreements to raise up to $1.84 million from the exercise of previously issued common stock warrants.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2% to $79.27 while gold traded down 0.6% at $2,008.50.

Silver traded up 0.5% to $25.38 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.4% to $4.0755.

Stocks of crude oil in the US dropped by 2.675 million barrels in the week that April 14, 2023, compared to estimates of a 2.464 million decline, the API said Tuesday.

Euro zone

European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.10%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.13% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.77%. The German DAX rose 0.08%, French CAC 40 rose 0.21% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.15%.

Construction output in the Eurozone increased 2.3% from a year ago in February versus a revised 0.5% growth in the previous month. The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was confirmed at 6.9% in March, recording its lowest level since Feb. 2022. The Eurozone recorded a current account surplus of EUR 21.3 billion in February versus a year-ago deficit of EUR 1.9 billion.

UK’s producer inflation eased to 8.7% year-over-year in March versus a revised 11.9% in the prior month, while consumer price inflation rate slowed to 10.1% year-over-year in March from 10.4% in February.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 0.18%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.37% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declining 0.68%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.2%.

Industrial production in Japan climbed 4.6 percent month-over-month in February. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index in Australia came in almost flat versus the previous month during March.

Economics

• Mortgage applications in the US fell 8.8% in the week ended April 14, 2023, following a 5.3% increase in the prior week, according to Mortgage Bankers Association.
• US crude oil inventories declined by 4.581 million barrels in the week ended April 14, 2023, versus market estimates of a 1.088 million barrel drop, the US Energy Information Administration said.

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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 106,481,960 cases with around 1,158,340 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,845,400 cases and 531,190 deaths, while France reported over 39,914,030 COVID-19 cases with 166,160 deaths. In total, there were at least 685,865,890 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,843,940 deaths.