Mid-Day Market Update: Xcel Brands Jumps After Q1 Results; Pyxus International Shares Slide

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 1.67% to 24611.78 while the NASDAQ rose 2.15% to 9382.94. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.85% to 2977.07.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths around the world, reporting a total of 1,528,660 cases with around 91,930 deaths. Brazil confirmed a total of over 271,880 COVID-19 cases with 17,980 deaths, while Russia reported a total of at least 308,700 confirmed cases and 2,970 deaths. In total, there were at least 4,915,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 323,650 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 3.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Green Plains Inc. GPRE, up 26%, and Newpark Resources, Inc. NR, up 20%.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares rose by just 0.6%.

Top Headline

Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Lowe's reported first-quarter earnings of $1.77 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.31 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $19.70 billion, which exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $18.08 billion. U.S. same-store sales climbed 12.3% during the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Xcel Brands, Inc. XELB shares shot up 34% to $1.03 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Shares of Surface Oncology, Inc. SURF got a boost, shooting 37% to $3.6510. Surface Oncology and Merck announced plans to collaborate on immuno-oncology study evaluating SRF617, targeting CD39 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) In solid tumor patients.

Cheetah Mobile Inc. CMCM shares were also up, gaining 39% to $2.88 after the company reported a $1.44 per ADS special dividend and agreed to sell remaining equity ownership in Bytedance for $66 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Luckin Coffee Inc. LK shares tumbled 33% to $2.93 after the company resume trading on Wednesday. The trading of the Chinese coffee chain company at the Nasdaq Stock Market was halted back in April after the disclosure of securities fraud by its Chief Operating Officer Jian Liu.

Shares of Pyxus International, Inc. PYX were down 15% to $2.29 following a WSJ article suggesting the company is seeking financing for a possible bankruptcy.

ShiftPixy, Inc. PIXY was down, falling 16% to $8.15. ShiftPixy shares jumped 52% on Tuesday after the company announced a deal with Diamondback DTNM, an operator of 11 Del Taco Restaurants.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 3.2% to $32.99, while gold traded up 0.3% to $1,751.60.

Silver traded up 0.8% Wednesday to $18.05, while copper rose 1.8% to $2.4605.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.9%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.2%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.1%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.3%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.8% while UK shares rose 1%.

Economics

U.S. crude inventories dropped 5 million barrels for the week ended May 15, the Energy Information Administration reported. Gasoline supply rose 2.8 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles gained 3.8 million barrels.

The Treasury will auction 20-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.