Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.24 percent to 24,883.55 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.62 percent to 7,050.54.
The S&P also rose, gaining 0.41 percent to 2,706.91.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from
Renren Inc (NYSE: RENN) and Sequans Communications
SA ADR (NYSE: SQNS).
In trading on Wednesday, telecommunications services shares fell 0.88 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included
Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CNSL), down 7 percent, and Telekomnks Indn Prsr Tbk Prshn Prsrn-ADR (NYSE:
TLK) down 4 percent.
Top Headline
Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) posted
better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
Commercial Metals reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.32 per share on revenue of $1.2 billion. Analysts expected earnings of
$0.17 per share on sales of $1.1 billion.
Equities Trading UP
SCANA Corporation (NYSE: SCG) shares shot up 23
percent to $47.90. Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE: D) announced
plans to buy Scana in a $7.9 billion all-stock deal.
Shares of China Hgs Real Estate Inc (NASDAQ: HGSH)
got a boost, shooting up 152 percent to $3.15. China HGS Real Estate reported FY 2017 earnings of $0.14 per share, up from $0.11
per share in 2016.
BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) shares were
also up, gaining 9 percent to $39.95. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded BJ's Restaurants from Hold to Buy.
Equities Trading DOWN
Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI) shares
dropped 9 percent to $12.14 after the company reported the termination of its merger deal with China’s Ant Financial, due to the
CFIUS rejected the companies proposals related to protecting personal data.
Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ATRA)
were down 7 percent to $16.80 after the company reported a proposed offering of common stock.
Crispr Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) was down,
falling around 7 percent to $23.49. CRISPR Therapeutics disclosed a proposed public offering of common shares.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.72 percent to $61.41 while gold traded up 0.15 percent to $1,318.10.
Silver traded up 0.11 percent Wednesday to $17.225, while copper fell 1.11 percent to $3.2415.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.58 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.35 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.31 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 1.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.90
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.49 percent.
Economics
The ISM manufacturing index gained to 59.70 in December, versus prior reading of 58.20. Economists were expecting a reading of
58.10.
U.S. construction spending rose 0.8 percent for November, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent growth.
The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.
© 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.