Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.08 percent to 21,847.35 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.37 percent to
6,325.15. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.09 percent to 2,448.52.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed by 0.34 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Bristow Group Inc
(NYSE: BRS), down 9 percent, and Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:
FRO) down 7 percent.
Top Headline
Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) posted upbeat
earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.
Analog Devices posted quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion. However, analysts were expecting
earnings of $1.15 per share on revenue of $1.4 billion.
Analog Devices expects Q4 earnings of $1.29 to $1.43 per share, on revenue of $1.45 billion to $1.55 billion. Analysts projected
earnings of $1.24 per share on sales of $1.45 billion.
Equities Trading UP
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) shares shot up
19 percent to $46.89 after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.
Shares of Mazor Robotics Ltd - ADR (NASDAQ: MZOR)
got a boost, shooting up 10 percent to $46.16 following announcement of Medtronic making a $40 million third tranche investment in
the company.
Caleres Inc (NYSE: CAL) shares were also up, gaining
10 percent to $27.19 as the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.
Equities Trading DOWN
Otonomy Inc (NASDAQ: OTIC) shares dropped 80
percent to $4.10 after the biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on diseases and disorders of the ear, provided a disappointing
update to an ongoing clinical trial. Otonomy has been overseeing a Phase 3 trial called AVERTS-1 for the treatment of patients with
Ménière's disease. Unfortunately, the company announced its trial that examined its OTIVIDEX therapy and enrolled 165 patients
failed to meet its primary endpoint, which was the count of definitive vertigo days by Poisson Regression analysis. As such, the
company will immediately suspend all development activities for OTIVIDEX and will conduct a review of its product pipeline plans
and commercial efforts to identify opportunities moving forward. JP Morgan downgraded Otonomy from Overweight to Neutral.
Shares of Barnes & Noble Education Inc (NYSE: BNED)
were down 16 percent to $5.70 after the company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.
Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE: DY) was down, falling
around 9 percent to $74.56. Dycom reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
The company also issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.71 percent to $46.11 while gold traded down 0.33 percent to $1,314.50.
Silver traded down 0.09 percent Wednesday to $17.50, while copper fell 0.31 percent to $3.095.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.79 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.62 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.44 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.64 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.55
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.48 percent.
Economics
The MBA's index of mortgage application activity declined 2.3 percent for the latest week.
Private-sector employers added 237,000 jobs during August, ADP reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 183,000
jobs.
Gross domestic product increased at a rate of 3 percent in the second quarter, versus an initial reading of 2.6 percent.
Economists projected a 2.7 percent rate for the quarter.
Domestic crude supplies declined 5.4 million barrels for the week ended August 25, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
reported. However, analysts were estimating a drop of 1.91 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles rose 35,000 barrels, while
distillate stockpiles rose 748,000 barrels last week.
Data on farm prices for July will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.