Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.06 percent to 24,739.26 while the NASDAQ declined 0.32 percent to
6,941.83. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.13 percent to 2,678.10.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from
Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) and
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (ADR) (NYSE: SID).
In trading on Wednesday, technology shares fell 0.56 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Red Hat Inc
(NYSE: RHT), down 6 percent, and Veeco Instruments Inc.
(NASDAQ: VECO) down 5 percent.
Top Headline
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) reported in-line
earnings for its second quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.
General Mills reported Q2 earnings of $0.82 per share on revenue of $4.2 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.82 per
share on revenue of $4.09 billion.
General Mills expects FY18 sales growth to be flat to down 1 percent, versus its previous range of down 1 percent to 2
percent.
Equities Trading UP
Net Element International Inc (NASDAQ: NETE)
shares shot up 240 percent to $17.73. The fintech company announced the launch of a blockchain-focused business unit to support its
electronic payment services in partnership with Bunker Capital. The “decentralized crypto-based ecosystem” is intended to directly
connect merchants and consumers engaged in transactions.
Shares of Seven Stars Cloud Group Inc (NASDAQ: SSC)
got a boost, shooting up 25 percent to $5.40. Seven Stars announced its 27-percent stake in Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc.,
which claims to be the first and only blockchain-based alternative trading system licensed by the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
NXT-ID Inc (NASDAQ: NXTD) shares were also up,
gaining 66 percent to $3.02. The firm’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fit Pay, Inc., announced it has extended partnership with Cascade
Financial Technology Corp to develop a platform enabling expense of cryptocurrency at global retail sites. Their collaborative
product will transfer cryptocurrency value into accepted digital payment forms.
Equities Trading DOWN
Applied DNA Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: APDN) shares
dropped 27 percent to $1.63. Applied DNA reported 2.735 million share offering at a combined effective price of $1.75 per
share.
Shares of My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYSZ) were down
19 percent to $0.67. My Size reported pricing of 3.833 million share common stock offering at $0.65 per share.
Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ: ATOS) was down,
falling around 23 percent to $0.239 after the company reported the pricing of 5.3 million share common stock offering.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.02 percent to $57.57 while gold traded up 0.33 percent to $1,268.40.
Silver traded up 0.66 percent Wednesday to $16.26, while copper rose 1.21 percent to $3.1895.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.54 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.08 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.52 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.94 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.54
percent while U.K. shares fell 0.32 percent.
Economics
U.S. existing-home sales gained 5.6 percent to an annual rate of 5.81 million in November. However, economists were expecting a
5.54 million rate.
U.S. crude oil inventories declined 6.5 million barrels last week, the EIA reported. However, analysts projected a drop of 3.77
million barrels.
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