Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Derma Sciences Climbs On Acquisition News; Novadaq Shares Plunge

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.30 percent to 19,915.99 while the NASDAQ declined 0.14 percent to 5,544.03. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.04 percent to 2,269.69.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares gained around 0.88 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust BPT, and Global Partners LP GLP.

In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares fell by 1.72 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALNY, down 8 percent, and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACHN, down 8 percent.

Top Headline

SUPERVALU INC. SVU reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.

Supervalu posted Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $3.0 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $3.8 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Derma Sciences Inc DSCI shares shot up 39 percent to $6.95 after the company agreed to be acquired by Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp IART for $7.00 per share in cash.

Shares of Enphase Energy Inc ENPH got a boost, shooting up 19 percent to $1.34 after the company reported a $10 million strategic investment from T.J.Rodgers and John Doerr.

Kornit Digital Ltd KRNT shares were also up, gaining 16 percent to $16.25 after the company disclosed that it has signed an agreement with Amazon for digital printing technology to help Amazon expand on-demand production for garment decoration.

Equities Trading DOWN

Novadaq Technologies Inc. NVDQ shares dropped 18 percent to $6.30 after the company issued a weak sales forecast.

Shares of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. ETH were down around 10 percent to $31.40 after the company issued a weak outlook for the second quarter.

SUPERVALU INC. SVU was down, falling around 8 percent to $4.43 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.40 percent to $52.55 while gold traded up 0.72 percent to $1,194.00.

Silver traded down 0.05 percent Wednesday to $16.84, while copper fell 0.27 percent to $2.61.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.23 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.46 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.32 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.54 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.01 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.21 percent.

Economics

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity rose 5.80 percent for the week ended January 6, 2017.

Crude oil supplies increased 4.1 million barrels for the week ended January 6, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 1.8 million barrels. Gasoline supplies gained 5.02 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 8.36 million barrels.