U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining more than 100 points on Wednesday.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.45% to 32,540.68 while the NASDAQ rose 1.43% to 12,525.90. The S&P also rose, gaining, 0.71% to 4,120.15.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Communication services shares climbed 1.7% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ:PERI), up 7% and Golden Matrix Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMGI) up 8%.
In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell 1.1%.
Top Headline
The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly rose to 56.7 in July, recording the highest level in three months, compared to June’s reading of 55.3. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 53.5.
Equities Trading UP
Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTX) shares shot up 108% to $5.05 as the company entered into a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Roche Holdings AG, focused on developing allogeneic CAR-T therapies directed to hematologic malignancies.
Shares of Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:APDN) got a boost, shooting 76% to $4.9284 on continued strength after the company initiated analytical validation of a Company-developed, PCR-based monkeypox virus test that is specific for the genetic signature of the monkeypox virus.
Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE:PING) shares were also up, gaining 60% to $27.90 after the company announced it will be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $28.50 per share in cash. Ping Identity also posted a Q2 loss of $0.34 per share.
Equities Trading DOWN
MDJM Ltd (NASDAQ:MDJH) shares tumbled 37% to $2.15 after surging 90% on Tuesday.
Shares of MMTec, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTC) were down 37% to $4.9191 after jumping over 390% on Tuesday. MMTEC recently regained compliance with NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement.
Alpha Capital Acquisition Company (NASDAQ:ASPC) was down, falling 31% to $6.99. Alpha Capital Acquisition Company’s shareholders approved proposed merger transaction with Semantix.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $94.02, while gold traded down 1% to $1,772.20.
Silver traded down 1.3% to $19.87 on Wednesday while copper fell 1.1% to $3.4810.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6%. The German DAX climbed 0.6%, French CAC 40 surged 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.8%.
The annual producer inflation in the Eurozone dropped to 35.8% in June from 36.2% in May, while retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in June. Producer prices in the Eurozone increased 1.1% month-over-month in June, while services PMI was revised higher to 51.2 in July from a preliminary reading of 50.6.
The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI dropped to 47.7 in July from 51.3 in the previous month, while UK’s Composite PMI fell to 52.1 in July from 53.7 in June. The S&P Global French Composite PMI slipped to 51.7 in July from 52.5 a month ago, while German Composite PMI rose slightly to 48.1 in July from a preliminary level of 48. Germany reported a trade surplus of €7.7 billion in June.
Economics
The S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 47.3 in July versus a preliminary level of 47.
U.S. factory orders rose 2% month-over-month in June.
The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly rose to 56.7 in July, recording the highest level in three months, compared to June’s reading of 55.3. However, analysts were expecting a reading of 53.5.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 10:30 a.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 93,319,700 cases with around 1,055,970 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,067,140 cases and 526,470 deaths, while France reported over 33,921,340 COVID-19 cases with 152,280 deaths. In total, there were at least 584,458,570 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,424,210 deaths.
