Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 1.52% to 32,267.26 while the NASDAQ rose 0.38% to 13,123.62. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.81% to 3,906.65.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 29,096,450 cases with around 527,700 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 11,262,700 confirmed cases and 158,060 deaths, while Brazil reported over 11,122,420 COVID-19 cases with 268,370 deaths. In total, there were at least 117,660,020 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 2,612,360 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Materials shares rose 1.7% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS), up 8%, and Livent Corporation (NASDAQ:LTHM), up 7%.
In trading on Wednesday, consumer discretionary shares fell by 0.1%.
Top Headline
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) reported in-line earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views.
Campbell posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.84 per share, in-line with analysts’ estimates of $0.84 per share. The company’s sales came in at $2.28 billion, versus expectations of $2.30 billion.
Campbell said it sees FY21 adjusted EPS of $3.03-$3.11, versus analysts’ estimates of $3.03.
Equities Trading UP
MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV) shares shot up 41% to $8.02 after the biopharmaceutical company announced a partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to repurpose MN-166 (ibudilast) as a potential medical countermeasure against lung damage induced by chlorine gas.
Shares of Enveric Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENVB) got a boost, shooting 88% to $5.51 in reaction to acquiring an exclusive, perpetual license for novel molecules from Diverse Biotech. It is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new molecules for oncology.
Koss Corporation (NASDAQ:KOSS) shares were also up, gaining 38% to $24.78.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Just Energy Group Inc. (NYSE:JE) shares tumbled 41% to $2.3401 after the company filed for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in the US following losses from the winter storms in Texas.
Shares of INVO Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:INVO) were down 39% to $5.78. The company’s stock jumped 202% on Tuesday after the company said it has amended its exclusive U.S. commercialization agreement with Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
Sundance Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:SNDE) was down, falling 29% to $1.68 after the company announced that it would file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.5% to $63.69, while gold traded down 0.1% to $1,716.40.
Silver traded down 0.3% Wednesday to $26.095 while copper rose 0.5% to $4.0290.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.34% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.71%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 rose 1.11%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.07% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.46%.
Industrial production in France rose 3.3% in January, while Italy’s producer prices fell 0.3% year-over-year in January.
Economics
Annual inflation rate rose to 1.7% in February from 1.4% in January.
US crude inventories rose 13.798 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration reported.
The U.S. Treasury monthly statement for February will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Analysts expect Treasury's monthly deficit widening to $165.0 billion in February from a $162.8 billion deficit in January.
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