Crude Oil Rises Sharply; Foot Locker Shares Plunge

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining over 100 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.62% to 38,825.33 while the NASDAQ rose 0.81% to 16,069.34. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.80% to 5,119.15.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

 

Energy shares jumped by 1.2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares were almost flat.

 

Top Headline

 

U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 1.367 million barrels in the week ended March 1, 2024, compared to market estimates of a 2.116 million surge.

 

Equities Trading UP

 

Aptorum Group Limited APM shares shot up 856% to $15.96 after the company announced it entered into an agreement and plan of merger with YOOV and also announced a spin-off agreement to separate its legacy business.

Shares of TRxADE HEALTH, Inc. MEDS got a boost, surging 74% to $13.99 after the company announced a special cash dividend of $8 per share.

American Public Education, Inc. APEI shares were also up, gaining 33% to $15.14 following upbeat quarterly results.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

 

Entravision Communications Corporation EVC shares dropped 52% to $1.73 after the company received communication from Meta indicating its intention to wind down its ASP program globally, ending its relationship with all ASPs, including Entravision, by July 1. The ASP program represented a large portion of Entravision's total consolidated revenue.

Shares of Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. NEPT were down 44% to $0.2102. Neptune announced decision of Nasdaq Hearings Panel to delist common shares.

Foot Locker, Inc. FL was down, falling 28% to $24.58 after reporting fourth-quarter results.

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Commodities

 

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.7% to $80.26 while gold traded up 0.6% at $2,153.70.

Silver traded rose 1.7% to $24.40 on Wednesday while copper rose 1.1% to $3.89.

 

Euro zone

 

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.41%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.46% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.82% The German DAX gained 0.08% French CAC 40 rose 0.30% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.67%.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI climbed to 49.7 in February from January’s reading of 48.8. The S&P Global France construction PMI climbed to 41.9 in February versus a three-year low level of 39.6 in January.

The HCOB Eurozone construction PM increased to 42.9 in February from 41.3 in the prior month. The HCOB Germany construction PMI rose to 39.1 in February, notching the highest reading in five months, while German trade surplus widened to EUR 27.5 billion in January versus a revised EUR 23.3 billion surplus in the prior month.

 

Asia Pacific Markets

 

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.02%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 1.70%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.26% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.54%.

 

Economics

 

U.S. mortgage applications climbed by 9.7% in the week ending March 1, 2024.

Private businesses in the U.S. added 140,000 jobs in February compared to revised 111,000 gains in January, and versus market estimates of 150,000.

U.S. wholesale inventories declined by 0.3% month-over-month in January compared to a 0.4% rise in the prior month.

The number of job openings fell by 26,000 from the prior month to 8,863 million in January.

The RealClearMarkets/TIPP Economic Optimism Index dipped to 43.5 in March versus 44 in January.

U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 1.367 million barrels in the week ended March 1, 2024, compared to market estimates of a 2.116 million surge.

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