Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.01 percent to 23,555.41 while the NASDAQ gained 0.13 percent to
6,776.27. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.04 percent to 2,591.74.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Wednesday afternoon, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed by 1.03 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the
sector included American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI), up 30 percent, and Medifast Inc (NYSE: MED), up 15 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell 0.47 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Ormat Technologies,
Inc. (NYSE: ORA), down 5 percent, and SCANA
Corporation (NYSE: SCG) down 3 percent.
Top Headline
Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) reported better-than-expected
earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY17 forecast.
Humana posted quarterly EPS of $3.39 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $3.27 per share. Its revenue declined 3 percent
to $13.28 billion.
Humana now expects 2017 adjusted earnings of around $11.60 per share, versus earlier forecast of $11.50 per share.
Equities Trading UP
American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI)
shares shot up 30 percent to $25.50 on upbeat quarterly earnings.
Shares of Container Store Group Inc (NYSE: TCS) got a
boost, shooting up 30 percent to $4.99 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised
its full year forecast.
Forterra Inc (NASDAQ: FRTA) shares were also up,
gaining 35 percent to $6.81. Forterra reported a Q3 loss of $0.18 per share on sales of $444.25 million.
Equities Trading DOWN
CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ: CECE) shares
dropped 32 percent to $5.88 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results.
Shares of LendingClub Corp (NYSE: LC) were down 18
percent to $4.50 after missing on third-quarter sales estimates. The company also issued fourth quarter guidance well below
estimates.
RedHill Biopharma Ltd - ADR (NASDAQ: RDHL) was
down, falling around 29 percent to $5.31. RedHill Biopharma priced its 4.091 million ADS offering at $5.50 per ADS.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.16 percent to $57.29 while gold traded up 0.89 percent to $1,287.20.
Silver traded up 1.56 percent Wednesday to $17.205, while copper rose 0.52 percent to $3.105.
Eurozone
European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.05 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.02
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.57 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40
dropped 0.17 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.22 percent.
Economics
Domestic crude supplies gained 2.24 million barrels for the week ended November 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
reported. Analysts expected a drop of 2.88 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles slipped 3.31 million barrels, while distillate
stockpiles dropped 3.36 million barrels for the week.
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.