Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.09 percent to 20,906.07 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.26 percent to
5,848.79. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 2,368.51.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Healthcare shares rose 0.30 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Sucampo
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMP), and Rigel
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL).
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 1.69 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Willbros Group
Inc (NYSE: WG), down 11 percent, and Denbury Resources
Inc. (NYSE: DNR), down 9 percent.
Top Headline
Childrens Place Inc (NASDAQ: PLCE) posted
better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
Children's Place posted Q4 earnings of $1.88 per share on revenue of $520.8 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.59
per share on revenue of $522.2 million.
Children's Place reported a $250 million share buyback plan and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share.
Equities Trading UP
Global Blood Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: GBT) shares
shot up 23 percent to $34.85 amid a report that Novo Nordisk has approached the company.
Shares of CafePress Inc (NASDAQ: PRSS) got a
boost, shooting up 14 percent to $3.31 on strong results for the fourth quarter.
Childrens Place Inc (NASDAQ: PLCE) shares were
also up, gaining 18 percent to $117.95 after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
Equities Trading DOWN
Natera Inc (NASDAQ: NTRA) shares dropped 15
percent to $8.41 after the company reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.
Shares of Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) were down
around 12 percent to $9.37. Express reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the current
quarter.
Health Insurance Innovations Inc (NASDAQ: HIIQ)
was down, falling around 10 percent to $15.65. Health Insurance Innovations reported a secondary offering by selling
shareholders.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 3.35 percent to $51.36 while gold traded down 0.58 percent to $1,209.00.
Silver traded down 1.43 percent Wednesday to $17.29, while copper fell 0.53 percent to $2.60.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.08 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.50 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.14 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.11 percent
while U.K. shares fell 0.06 percent.
Economics
The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity declined 3.3 percent for the latest week.
Private-sector employers added 298,000 jobs in February, ADP reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 190,000
jobs.
U.S. nonfarm productivity rose 1.30 percent for the fourth quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.50 percent gain.
Unit-labor costs increased 1.7 percent for the quarter.
U.S. wholesale inventories declined 0.2 percent in January.
Crude supplies gained 8.2 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were
expecting a gain of 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies declined 6.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 2.7
million barrels last week.
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