Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.77 percent to 20,066.83 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.82 percent to 5,646.65.
The S&P also rose, gaining 0.67 percent to 2,295.38.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial shares gained around 0.91 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included United
Community Financial Corp (NASDAQ: UCFC), and
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTX).
In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares slipped by 0.31 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NYSE: NAK), down 8
percent, and POSCO (ADR) (NYSE: PKX), down 8
percent.
Top Headline
Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected
results for its latest quarter, but issued a weak sales forecast.
Boeing’s quarterly earnings increased to $1.63 billion, or $2.59 per share, compared to $1.03 billion, or $1.51 per share, in
the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company’s adjusted earnings came in at $2.47 per share.
Its revenue declined 1 percent to $23.29 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $23.13
billion.
For 2017, Boeing projects adjusted earnings of $9.10 to $9.30 per share, on revenue of $90.5 billion to $92.5 billion. Analysts
projected earnings of $9.25 per share on revenue of $92.96 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Arctic Cat Inc (NASDAQ: ACAT) shares shot up 42
percent to $18.53 after the company agreed to be acquired by Textron in a $247 million all-cash deal.
Shares of Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ: BOBE) got a
boost, shooting up 24 percent to $59.35 after the company agreed to sell its restaurants unit to Golden Gate Capital for $565
million. The company also plans to acquire Pineland Farms Potato Company for $115 million.
Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTI)
shares were also up, gaining 24 percent to $2.45 after the company disclosed that it has partnered with DENSO Products and Services
Americas Inc. to provide its technology to the North American heavy-duty market.
Equities Trading DOWN
Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO) shares
dropped 22 percent to $12.77 after the company reported weak Q1 results and lowered its FY17 guidance. The company also reduced its
quarterly dividend to $0.125 per share.
Shares of Horizon Global Corp (NYSE: HZN) were down
around 13 percent to $18.14. Horizon Global reported proposed offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes and announced
preliminary unaudited 2016 financial results.
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) was down, falling around 10
percent to $44.31 after the company reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter and announced plans to acquire Arctic Cat in a
$247 million all-cash deal.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.21 percent to $53.29 while gold traded down 1.22 percent to $1,198.80.
Silver traded down 1.80 percent Wednesday to $16.88, while copper fell 0.13 percent to $2.71.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.34 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.04 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.99 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 1.86 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.21 percent
while U.K. shares rose 0.28 percent.
Economics
Crude oil supplies rose 2.84 million barrels for the week ended January 20, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.
Analysts were expecting a gain of 2.81 million barrels.
The Treasury will auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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