U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping more than 100 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded down 0.17% to 32,598.06 while the NASDAQ fell 0.98% to 10,784.51. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.47% to 3,837.89.
Also check this: Investor Sentiment Decreases As US Stocks Fall For Second Straight Session
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities shares gained 0.3% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) and Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR).
In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares tumbled by 1%.
Top Headline
US crude oil inventories dropped by 3.115 million barrels in the week ended October 28th, versus market estimates of a 0.367 million barrel rise.
Equities Trading UP
- Benefitfocus, Inc. (NASDAQ:BNFT) shares shot up 48% to $10.35 after the company announced it will be acquired by Voya Financial for $10.50 per share.
- Shares of Bandwidth Inc. (NASDAQ:BAND) got a boost, shooting 45% to $17.78 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 sales results. The company also issued Q4 and FY22 sales guidance above analyst estimates.
- Starry Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:STRY) shares were also up, gaining 122% to $0.4000 after reporting Q3 results
Equities Trading DOWN
- Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) shares tumbled 43% to $129.93 after Dupont announced it is terminating its intended acquisition of the company.
- Shares of Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP) were down 42% to $4.4981 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 results. The company said inability to maintain compliance with covenants in its credit agreement raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.
- Enovix Corporation (NASDAQ:ENVX) was down, falling 39% to $10.95 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 EPS
Also check out: ON Semiconductor, Global Payments And Other Big Losers From Monday
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.6% to $89.75 while gold traded up 0.1% at $1,650.20.
Silver traded down 0.3% to $19.60 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.2% to $3.4660.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.22%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.44% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.37%. The German DAX fell 0.44%, French CAC 40 fell 0.79% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.10%.
The S&P Global Eurozone manufacturing PMI was revised slightly lower to 46.4 in October versus a preliminary level of 46.6. German manufacturing PMI fell to 45.1 in October from a preliminary of 45.7, while unemployment rate in the country came in unchanged for a third straight month at 5.5% in October. The S&P Global French manufacturing PMI fell to 47.2 in October from 47.7 in the previous month, while Italian manufacturing PMI declined to 46.5 in October from the 48.3 in the previous month. The S&P Global Spain manufacturing PMI fell to 44.7 in October from 49 in the prior month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.06% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbing 1.15%.
Australian building permits fell by 5.8% month-over-month to 16,455 units during the month of September.
Economics
- Private businesses in the US added 239,000 jobs in October, the most in three months, and versus analysts’ expectations of 195,000.
- US crude oil inventories dropped by 3.115 million barrels in the week ended October 28th, versus market estimates of a 0.367 million barrel rise.
- The Federal Reserve will announced its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Check out this: Market Volatility Increases As Investors Await Fed's Rate Decision
COVID-19 Update
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 99,400,950 cases with around 1,095,640 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,655,820 cases and 529,070 deaths, while France reported over 36,842,910 COVID-19 cases with 157,040 deaths. In total, there were at least 636,126,050 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,595,990 deaths.
