Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.22 percent to 25,749.43 while the NASDAQ declined 0.36 percent to
7,549.49. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.26 percent to 2,782.51.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the materials shares rose 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included LyondellBasell
Industries NV (NYSE: LYB) up 6 percent, and
Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) up
3 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 1.2 percent.
Top Headline
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR)
reported better-than-expected EPS and sales results for its fourth quarter.
Dollar Tree said it earned $1.93 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $6.21 billion versus expectations of $1.92 per
share and $6.19 billion. The company reported a 2.4 percent increase in its same-store sales for the quarter.
Dollar Tree said it expects Q1 earnings of $1.05 to $1.15 per share, on sales of $5.74 billion to $5.85 billion. The company
projects FY19 EPS of $4.85-$5.25 on sales of $23.45 billion-$23.87 billion. Analysts project Q1 earnings of $1.30 per share on
sales of $5.80 billion and FY19 EPS of $5.80 on sales of $23.89 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Bio-Path Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BPTH)
shares got a boost, shooting up 113 percent to $9.84 after the company's Phase 2 trial of BP1001 for the treatment of acute myeloid
leukemia demonstrated 'meaningful clinical improvement' with an 'excellent' patient safety profile.
Shares of Aytu Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ: AYTU) shot up 32 percent to $1.46 after the company announced an agreement with
SUDA Pharmaceuticals to distribute ZolpiMist outside of the US and Canada.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) shares
were also up, gaining 21 percent to $25.93 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.
Equities Trading DOWN
NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) shares dropped 19
percent to $ 8.25 following Q4 results. Although the company beat sales estimates, it terminated its plan for a Shanghai
manufacturing plant and said it expects a greater-than-anticipated sequential decrease in deliveries.
Shares of Valeritas Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: VLRX) were down 19 percent to $0.44 after the company reported mixed Q4 earnings
and issued Q1 sales guidance below consensus estimates.
Qutoutiao Inc. (NASDAQ: QTT) was down,
falling around 19 percent to $12.71 after the company reported a wider net loss compared to Q4 last year.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.2 percent to $55.86 while gold traded up 0.2 percent to $1,287.20.
Silver traded fell 0.1 percent Wednesday to $15.09, while copper fell 0.03 percent to $2.9325.
Eurozone
European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.09 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.38 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.56 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.39 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.16 percent
while U.K. shares rose 0.04 percent.
Economics
Private-sector employers added 183,000 jobs in February, versus a revised 300,000 gain in January, ADP reported. However,
economists were expecting a gain of 189,000 jobs.
.
The U.S. trade deficit increased around 19 percent to $59.8 billion in December. However, economists were projecting a $57 billion
deficit. Imports increased 2.1 percent to $264.9 billion in December, while exports fell 1.9 percent to $205.1 billion.
U.S. crude supplies climbed 7.07 million barrels for the week ended March 1, the Energy Information Administration reported.
However, analysts projected a gain of 388,000 barrels. Supplies of gasoline declined 4.23 million barrels last week, while
distillates fell 2.39 million barrels.
The Federal Reserve will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.
© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.