U.S. stocks traded mostly lower this morning, with the Dow Jones dropping around 30 points on Wednesday.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.10% to 30,492.51 while the NASDAQ fell 0.79% to 10,686.99. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.58% to 3,698.32.
Also check this: Dow Rises Over 300 Points As Market Volatility Decreases
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares climbed 1.1% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) and Alpine Summit Energy Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPS).
In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares dipped 1.2%.
Top Headline
Housing starts in the US dipped 8.1% to an annualized rate of 1.439 million in September compared to a revised 1.566 million in the prior month. Building permits rose 1.4% month-over-month to an annualized 1.564 million during the month.
Equities Trading UP
- LMF Acquisition Opportunities, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAO) shares shot up 30% to $11.14 after the company announced stockholders approved the previously-announced business combination with SeaStar Medical.
- Shares of HV Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HVBC) got a boost, shooting 29% to $25.81. Citizens Financial Services and HV Bancorp signed definitive merger agreement for $67.4 million.
- SOBR Safe, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOBR) shares were also up, gaining 21% to $3.2200 after the company announced it secured a large industrial customer and validation of its sales strategy.
Equities Trading DOWN
- Olaplex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OLPX) shares tumbled 50% to $4.9450 after the company issued Q3 and FY22 sales guidance below analyst estimates.
- Shares of Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) were down 20% to $118.87 after the company reported preliminary Q3 EPS results are lower year over year. The company also lowered its FY22 net sales growth guidance and net income margin.
- EQRx, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQRX) was down, falling 16% to $4.64.
Also check out: Carnival, Amazon, Iamgold And Other Big Gainers From Tuesday
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $83.77, while gold traded down 1% at $1,639.50.
Silver traded down 1.4% to $18.345 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.8% to $3.3360.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.2%. The German DAX decliend 0.1%, French CAC 40 rose 0.1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.1%.
The Eurozone annual inflation rate fell to 9.9% in September versus a preliminary reading of 10.0%, while construction output in the region climbed 2.3% year-over-year in August.
The annual inflation rate in the UK accelerated to 10.1% in September from 9.9% in the previous month, while producer inflation climbed 15.9% year-over-year in September slowing from a revised 16.4% increase a month ago.
Economics
Housing starts in the US dipped 8.1% to an annualized rate of 1.439 million in September compared to a revised 1.566 million in the prior month. Building permits rose 1.4% month-over-month to an annualized 1.564 million during the month.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Federal Open Market Committee will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will speak at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Check out this: Why Fear Level Among US Investors Is Decreasing
COVID-19 Update
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 98,907,740 cases with around 1,091,080 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,634,370 cases and 528,920 deaths, while France reported over 36,355,690 COVID-19 cases with 156,080 deaths. In total, there were at least 630,977,790 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,574,490 deaths.
