Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; US Consumer Prices Rise In April

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.60% to 34,064.63 while the NASDAQ fell 1.50% to 13,188.30. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.86% to 4,116.41.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 32,779,410 cases with around 582,840 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 23,340,930 cases and 254,190 deaths, while Brazil reported over 15,282,700 COVID-19 cases with 425,540 deaths. In total, there were at least 159,732,340 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 3,319,160 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed 2.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included SandRidge Energy, Inc. SD, up 16%, and SilverBow Resources, Inc. SBOW, up 13%.

In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares dipped 1.9%.

Top Headline

The annual inflation rate in the US surged to 4.2% in April from 2.6% in the previous month. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 3.6%.

 

Equities Trading UP

Ra Medical Systems, Inc. RMED shares shot up 65% to $5.49 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results.

Shares of Lucira Health, Inc. LHDX got a boost, shooting 31% to $6.68. Lucira said its Lucira CHECK IT COVID-19 test kit is now available on Amazon, Inc. in the US.

InnSuites Hospitality Trust IHT shares were also up, gaining 27% to $8.40. The stock has been moving for several days.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Array Technologies, Inc. ARRY shares tumbled 34% to $16.50 fter the company reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings. The company also reported it is unable to affirm previously provided guidance for FY21. Roth Capital, Barclays and Piper Sandler downgraded the stock.

Shares of SelectQuote, Inc. SLQT were down 19% to $22.19 after the company reported downbeat Q3 earnings.

FTC Solar, Inc. FTCI was down, falling 16% to $9.77. FTC Solar, last month, priced 19.84 million shares at $13 per share to raise $257.92 million in its initial public offering (IPO).

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $66.04, while gold traded down 0.1% to $1,835.10.

Silver traded down 0.6% Wednesday to $27.515 while copper rose 0.4% to $4.7825.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.3%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%, French CAC 40 fell 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.1%.

Manufacturing production in the UK surged 4.8% year-over-year in March, while industrial production rose 1.8% month-over-month. British gross domestic product contracted by 6.1% year-over-year during the first quarter, while trade deficit widened to GBP 2.0 billion in March from revised GBP 0.9 billion in the previous month. French annual inflation rate rose to a 14-month high of 1.2% for April, compared to 1.1% in March.

Economics

The annual inflation rate in the US surged to 4.2% in April from 2.6% in the previous month. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 3.6%.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey report for May will be released at 10:45 a.m. ET.

The U.S. Treasury budget report for April is scheduled for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here