Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.01 percent to 22,370.10 while the NASDAQ declined 0.11 percent to
6,454.34. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.01 percent to 2,506.45.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the energy shares surged 0.45 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Contango Oil & Gas
Company (NYSE: MCF), up 11 percent, and Bristow Group
Inc (NYSE: BRS), up 8 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, technology shares fell 0.36 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included MakeMyTrip
Limited (NASDAQ: MMYT), down 7 percent, and Western
Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) down 4 percent.
Top Headline
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) reported
weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
General Mills posted Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.71 per share on revenue of $3.77 billion. However, analysts were expecting
earnings of $0.76 per share on sales of $3.79 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY)
shares shot up 40 percent to $105.03 after the company impressed investors with encouraging data from a phase 3 clinical trial.
Alnylam, a company dedicated towards treating a wide range of debilitating diseases through ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference
(RNAi) therapeutics, said after Tuesday's market close that a phase 3 study called APOLLO met its primary efficacy endpoint and all
secondary endpoints.
Shares of DelMar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: DMPI) got a boost, shooting up 83 percent to $2.07 after announcing issuance of new
patent for VAL-08.
Gemphire Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: GEMP) shares
were also up, gaining 11 percent to $10.70 after the company reported plans to advance gemcabene into Phase 3 development.
Equities Trading DOWN
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) shares
dropped 16 percent to $22.83 as the company reported downbeat earnings for its third quarter.
Shares of Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL)
were down 15 percent to $5.37. Maxwell reported amended terms for deal with Viex Capital and announced a proposed offering of $50
million convertible senior notes due 2022.
Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: IOVA) was
down, falling around 11 percent to $7.57. Iovance Biotherapeutics reported a $50 million offering of common stock.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.15 percent to $50.05 while gold traded up 0.45 percent to $1,316.50.
Silver traded up 0.38 percent Wednesday to $17.345, while copper fell 0.19 percent to $2.964.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.13 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.17 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.35 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.03 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained
0.03 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.15 percent.
Economics
The MBA's index of mortgage application activity rose 9.7 percent for the latest week.
Existing home sales declined 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.35 million in August. However, economists were expecting a 5.46
million rate.
Domestic crude supplies rose 4.59 million barrels for the week ended September 15, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
reported. Analysts expected a gain of 3.49 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles dropped 2.13 million barrels, while distillate
stockpiles slipped 5.69 million barrels for the week.
The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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