Benzinga - by Avi Kapoor, Benzinga Staff Writer.
U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling over 100 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded down 0.71% to 39,588.89 while the NASDAQ fell 0.66% to 16,721.24. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.62% to 5,288.55.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Health care shares rose by 0.2% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 2%.
Top Headline
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results on Wednesday.
The company reported first-quarter FY25 sales growth of 5.9% year-on-year to $12.479 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $12.463 billion. Overall comp store sales increased 3%. EPS of 93 cents beat the consensus estimate of 87 cents.
The company expects FY25 EPS of $4.03-$4.09 (up from $3.94-$4.02)
Equities Trading UP
- Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKTS) shares shot up 127% to $0.3120 after the company reportedly floated the probability of bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit against Qorvo.
- Shares of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) got a boost, surging 96% to $1.0590 on continued volatility. Greenhaven last week said it continues to explore a possible transaction with the company.
- Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF) shares were also up, gaining 23% to $3.0150 following better-than-expected quarterly financial results.
- Edible Garden AG Incorporated (NASDAQ:EDBL) shares dropped 49% to $2.23 after the company announced the pricing of a $6 million public offering.
- Shares of Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc (NASDAQ:BDRX) were down 42% to $1.36 after the company announced $7 million of gross proceeds from warrant exercises.
- Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE:OGEN) was down, falling 37% to $1.9124. Oragenics named William “Frank” Peacock MD as Chief Clinical Officer.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $77.85 while gold traded down 1.4% at $2,392.20.
Silver traded down 2% to $31.445 on Wednesday, while copper fell 5.1% to $4.8440.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.34%, Germany's DAX fell 0.25% and France's CAC 40 dipped 0.61%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.05%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.55%.
The annual inflation rate in the UK fell to 2.3% in April from 3.2% in March, while producer prices rose 1.1% year-over-year in April.
Passenger car registrations in the European Union jumped 13.7% year-over-year to 914 thousand units in April.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.85%, China's Composite Index gaining 0.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.13% and India's S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.2%.
Japanese trade deficit rose to JPY 462,50 billion in April compared to a year-ago gap of JPY 429,79 billion. Japan’s core machinery orders climbed 2.9% month-over-month to 913 billion yen in March.
Economics
U.S. mortgage applications rose by 1.9% from the prior week in the period ending May 17, compared to a 0.5% gain in the prior week.
U.S. existing home sales fell 1.9% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 4.14 million units in April versus a revised 4.22 million in the prior month.
U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 1.825 million barrels in the week ending May 17, compared to a 2.508 million decline in the prior period, the EIA said. However, analysts were expecting a 2.55 million barrel decline.
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