Dow Jumps Over 200 Points; Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady

U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, after the Federal Reserve announced its policy decision on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.58% to 36,789.77 while the NASDAQ rose 0.63% to 14,624.74. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.62% to 4,672.48.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose by 1.2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, materials shares fell by 0.8%.

Top Headline

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced its decision to maintain the federal funds rate target range at 5.25%-5.5% on Wednesday.

Equities Trading UP

C4 Therapeutics, Inc. CCCC shares shot up 85% to $4.33 after the company announced data from the CFT7455 Phase 1 trial in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Following the update, Stifel analyst Bradley Canino upgraded C4 Therapeutics from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $2 to $12.

Shares of Shattuck Labs, Inc. STTK got a boost, surging 100% to $4.23 after the company announced initial topline dose-expansion data from its ongoing Phase 1A/B clinical trial of SL-172154 in combination with AZA in frontline HR-MDS and TP53m AML patients.

ReShape Lifesciences Inc. RSLS shares were also up, gaining 79% to $0.4481 after the company announced it received FDA PMA supplement approval for its next-generation Lap-Band 2.0 FLEX.

Equities Trading DOWN

Loop Media, Inc. LPTV shares dropped 39% to $0.7812 following fourth-quarter results.

Shares of Blackboxstocks Inc. BLBX were down 25% to $2.87 after the company acquired Evtec Aluminium Limited, a supplier to the EV and luxury automotive markets.

Processa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCSA was down, falling 21% to $0.6401 after the company said it recently had a meeting with the FDA about their Next Generation Capecitabine (NGC-Cap) for cancer patients.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.1% to $69.37 while gold traded up 0.2% at $1,997.90.

Silver traded down 0.4% to $22.925 on Wednesday while copper rose 0.1% to $3.7880.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.06%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.08% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.22% The German DAX fell 0.15% French CAC 40 fell 0.16%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.15%.

Industrial production in the Eurozone fell by 0.7% month-over-month in October versus a 1.0% decline in the prior period. German current account surplus increased to EUR 21.4 billion in October from EUR 9.6 billion in the year-ago month.

Industrial production in the U.K. fell by 0.8% month-over-month in October, while UK's trade deficit increased to £4.480 billion in October. The British economy contracted by 0.3% in October versus September.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.25%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.89% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 1.15%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.05%.

Total passenger vehicle sales in India rose by 4.3% year-over-year to 288,062 in November. The Bank of Japan's index for big manufacturers' sentiment rose to 12 in the fourth quarter versus a reading of 9 in the prior quarter.

Economics

Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose by 7.4% in the week ending Dec. 8.

U.S. producer prices came in steady for November from October, versus a revised 0.4% decline in the prior period, and versus market estimates of a 0.1% rise.

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined by 4.259 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 8, versus a 4.632 million decline from the prior week.

The U.S. Federal Reserve kept the range for its policy rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.5%.

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