Dow Jumps 200 Points; Abercrombie & Fitch Posts Upbeat Profit

U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining around 200 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.54% to 38,791.96 while the NASDAQ rose 0.85% to 16,074.71. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.64% to 5,111.36.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares jumped by 1% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares rose by just 0.2%.

Top Headline

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF posted better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.

Abercrombie & Fitch posted adjusted earnings of $2.97 per share, beating market estimates of $2.83 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $1.45 billion, versus expectations of $1.43 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Aptorum Group Limited APM shares shot up 90% to $3.17. Aptorum Group announced an agreement and plan of merger with YOOV Group Holding Ltd and a split-off agreement to separate its legacy business.

Shares of Airship AI Holdings, Inc. AISP got a boost, surging 63% to $8.05. Airship AI Holdings shares jumped 200% on Tuesday after the company announced that it has been awarded a contract with the Department of Justice for its Acropolis Enterprise Sensor Management video and data management platform.

Enviva Inc. EVA shares were also up, gaining 28% to $0.95 after gaining 42% on Tuesday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Entravision Communications Corporation EVC shares dropped 51% to $1.7350 after the company received communication from Meta indicating its intention to wind down its ASP program globally, ending its relationship with all ASPs, including Entravision, by July 1. The ASP program represented a large portion of Entravision's total consolidated revenue.

Shares of Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. NEPT were down 28% to $0.2696. Neptune announced decision of Nasdaq Hearings Panel to delist common shares.

Heart Test Laboratories, Inc. HSCS was down, falling 25% to $0.1351. HeartSciences announced Canada patent grant covering MyoVista Wavelet Technology.Also Check This Out: Ciena, AutoNation And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2% to $79.71 while gold traded up 0.4% at $2,151.00.

Silver traded rose 0.9% to $24.205 on Wednesday while copper rose 1.1% to $3.8885.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.3% The German DAX gained 0.2% French CAC 40 rose 0.3% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.7%.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI climbed to 49.7 in February from January’s reading of 48.8. The S&P Global France construction PMI climbed to 41.9 in February versus a three-year low level of 39.6 in January.

The HCOB Eurozone construction PM increased to 42.9 in February from 41.3 in the prior month. The HCOB Germany construction PMI rose to 39.1 in February, notching the highest reading in five months, while German trade surplus widened to EUR 27.5 billion in January versus a revised EUR 23.3 billion surplus in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.02%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 1.70%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.26% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.54%.

Economics

U.S. mortgage applications climbed by 9.7% in the week ending March 1, 2024.

Private businesses in the U.S. added 140,000 jobs in February compared to revised 111,000 gains in January, and versus market estimates of 150,000.

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