Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 1.06 percent to 20,756.84 while the NASDAQ declined 1.21 percent to
6,094.99. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.03 percent to 2,375.88.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities sector was the top gainer in the US market on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included National Grid plc
(ADR) (NYSE: NGG), Korea Electric Power Corporation
(ADR) (NYSE: KEP), and Unitil Corporation (NYSE:
UTL).
In trading on Wednesday, financial shares fell 1.26 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Whitestone REIT
(NYSE: WSR), down 7 percent, and Transcontinental Realty
Investors Inc (NYSE: TCI), down 9 percent.
Top Headline
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reported
stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.
Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the U.S., earned $1.21 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $16.02
billion; Analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.91 per share on revenue of $15.62 billion.
Net earnings for the quarter rose from $632 million a year ago to $681 million, while comparable sales fell just 1.3 percent;
Analysts were expecting a decrease as much as -3.7 percent. Target guided its second-quarter earnings per share to a range of $0.95
to $1.15 versus $1.00 per share Wall Street analysts were already expecting.
Equities Trading UP
Cemtrex Inc (NASDAQ: CETX) shares shot up 29
percent to $4.07 after the company disclosed that it has received over $21 million in new orders in April.
Shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: SNDX) got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $12.40 after the company reported the
advancement of ENCORE 601 in non-small cell lung cancer patients with disease progression on or after PD-1 therapies.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB)
shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $69.30 as the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter.
Equities Trading DOWN
bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ: BEBE) shares dropped 28
percent to $3.77. bebe stores will reportedly license www.bebe.com domain
name, social media accts. and international wholesale agreements to one or more third parties, according to Reuters.
Shares of Continental Materials Corporation (NYSE: CUO) were down 17 percent to $20.73. Continental Materials reported a Q1 loss of $0.25
per share on sales of $34.103 million.
Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB) was down, falling
around 13 percent to $10.02 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.27 percent to $48.79 while gold traded up 0.99 percent to $1,248.70.
Silver traded up 1.06 percent Wednesday to $16.925, while copper fell 0.31 percent to $2.5425.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.46 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.55 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.78 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.43 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped
0.64 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.21 percent.
Economics
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m.
ET.
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