Benzinga - by Lisa Levin, Benzinga Editor. U.S. stocks traded mixed this morning, following the release of some major earnings and economic reports.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.09% to 34,977.90 while the NASDAQ fell 0.40% to 13,577.19. The S&P 500, also fell, dropping, 0.07% to 4,434.69.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares rose by 0.6% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell by 0.6%.
Top Headline
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, but lowered its profit forecast.
Target reported a second-quarter FY23 sales decline of 4.9% year-on-year to $24.77 billion, missing the analyst consensus of $25.18 billion. Adjusted EPS of $1.80 beat the analyst consensus of $1.39.
Target lowered FY23 adjusted EPS guidance from $7.75-$8.75 to $7.00-$8.00 (consensus $7.79) and expects comparable sales in a wide range around mid-single-digit decline for the remainder of the year. It sees third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.20 - $1.60 against the Street view of $1.84; expects a mid-single-digit decline in comparable sales.
Equities Trading UP
Novo Integrated Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVOS) shares shot up 113% to $0.2470. Novo Integrated Sciences issued an update on certain current actions and events. The company recently reported a year-over-year increase in third-quarter EPS results.
Shares of EBET, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBET) got a boost, shooting 64% to $0.0679 after jumping 22% on Tuesday.
Akumin Inc. (NASDAQ: AKU) shares were also up, gaining 42% to $0.1943.
Akumin recently reported a year-over-year decrease in second-quarter financial results.
Equities Trading DOWN
Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IMPL) shares dropped 48% to $0.56.
Shares of Sacks Parente Golf, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPGC) were down 39% to $17.78 after jumping 624% on Tuesday. Sacks Parente Golf announced pricing of $12.8 million initial public offering of 3.2 million common shares at $4 per share.
Castellum, Inc. (NYSE: CTM) was down, falling 30% to $0.3601. Castellum recently posted strong quarterly sales.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.4% to $81.27 while gold traded down 0.1% at $1,932.90.
Silver traded down 0.1% to $22.64 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.2% to $3.6590.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.1% The German DAX fell 0.1% French CAC 40 fell 0.2%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.8%.
The Eurozone economy expanded by 0.3% during the second quarter, while the number of employed persons increased by 0.2% from the prior quarter to 166.7 thousand during the three months leading to June. Industrial production in the Eurozone increased by 0.5% month-over-month in June.
Consumer price inflation in the UK fell to 6.8% in July from 7.9% in the prior month, while producer prices fell by 0.8% year-over-year in July following a 0.3% increase in the prior month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.46%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.82% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.36%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.22%.
Average new home prices in China declined 0.1% year-over-year in July following a flat reading in the previous month. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index in Australia came in almost flat versus the earlier month in July versus a 0.1% increase in the previous month. The Reuters Tankan sentiment index for manufacturers in Japan rose to +12 in August from +3 in the prior month.
Economics
Mortgage applications in the U.S. fell 0.8% in the week ending Aug. 11, 2023.
Housing starts in the U.S. increased by 3.9% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 1.452 million in July.
Building permits in the U.S. rose 0.1% to an annual rate of 1.442 million in July.
Industrial production in the U.S. increased 1% from a month ago in July, above market estimates of a 0.3% growth.
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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 107,740,740 cases with around 1,172,140 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,996,330 cases and 531,920 deaths, while France reported over 40,138,560 COVID-19 cases with 167,640 deaths. In total, there were at least 693,599,040 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,908,150 deaths.
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