US Markets Open Lower; Dow Dips Over 200 Points

U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Dow Jones dropping more than 200 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.73% to 30,095.06 while the NASDAQ fell 1.29% to 11,031.97. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.98% to 3,753.81.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 1.2% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from Nine Energy Service, Inc. NINE and Alpine Summit Energy Partners, Inc. ALPS.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 2.2%.

Top Headline

Private businesses in the US added 208,000 jobs in September versus a revised 185,000 in August. The latest reading came in above market expectations of 200,000.

Equities Trading UP

• Nauticus Robotics, Inc. KITT shares shot up 74% to $5.59 after the company said it was awarded a second multi-million dollar contract by the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit for the development of an amphibious unmanned system.
• Shares of SHF Holdings, Inc. SHFS got a boost, shooting 46% to $7.37.
• Top Ships Inc. TOPS shares were also up, gaining 36% to $7.41. TOP Ships recently reported a 412% surge in net income for the six months ended June 30.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. ATXI shares tumbled 35% to $9.41.
• Shares of AeroClean Technologies, Inc. AERC were down 26% to $4.40. AeroClean Technologies shares jumped 85% on Tuesday after the company and Molekule announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the companies in an all-stock merger.
• Senti Biosciences, Inc. SNTI was down, falling 26% to $3.82 after jumping over 105% on Tuesday. B of A Securities recently initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and $7 price target.

Also check out: Dow Jumps Over 800 Points, Volatility In Markets Decreases

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.4% to $86.85, while gold traded down 0.7% at $1,718.00.

Silver traded down 4.2% to $20.205 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.2% to $3.4815.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.6%. The German DAX dropped 1%, French CAC 40 fell 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.4%.

The S&P Global Eurozone services PMI was revised down to 48.8 in September versus a preliminary level of 48.9, while composite PMI fell to 48.1 in September from a preliminary reading of 48.2.

The S&P Global Germany’s services PMI was revised lower to 45 in September versus a preliminary reading of 45.4, while French services PMI was revised lower to 52.9 in September from a flash reading of 53. Industrial production in France rose 2.4% from the prior month in August. The S&P Global Spain services PMI dropped to 48.5 in September from 50.6 in the previous month.

Economics

• Private businesses in the US added 208,000 jobs in September versus a revised 185,000 in August. The latest reading came in above market expectations of 200,000.
• The trade deficit in the US shrank to $67.4 billion in August, recording the lowest level since May last year. Imports to the US fell by $3.7 billion from a month ago to $326.3 in August, while exports fell by $0.7 billion to $258.9 billion.
• The S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 49.3 in September from a preliminary level of 49.2.
• The ISM services PMI fell to 56.7 in September from 56.9 in August. However, the latest reading exceeded market estimates of 56.
• The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

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COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 98,308,950 cases with around 1,085,360 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,601,930 cases and 528,730 deaths, while France reported over 35,573,130 COVID-19 cases with 155,270 deaths. In total, there were at least 624,421,150 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,553,480 deaths.