Benzinga - by Lisa Levin, Benzinga Editor.
U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining more than 50 points on Wednesday.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.17% to 33,059.59 while the NASDAQ rose 0.33% to 13,102.96. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.22% to 4,238.68.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Consumer discretionary shares rose by 0.9% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dipped by around 2.1%.
Top Headline
The ADP said private businesses in the U.S. added 89,000 workers in September, the least since Jan. 2021, and down from market estimates of 153,000.
Equities Trading UP
Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CDT) shares shot up 68% to $8.15.
Shares of Gaucho Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: VINO) got a boost, shooting 69% to $3.2299. Gaucho Group is planning to list two of its retail properties in Argentina, in San Rafael and Cordoba, for sale, priced at $2 million and $0.7 million respectively.
Vivos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVOS) shares were also up, gaining 55% to $0.2874 after the company announced it executed strategic agreements with Ormco and On Demand Orthodontist to provide Spark Clear Aligners to its national network of providers.
Equities Trading DOWN
Kineta, Inc. (NASDAQ: KA) shares dropped 30% to $2.78 after the company announced a $3 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.
Shares of A10 Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ATEN) were down 24% to $11.60 after the company reported preliminary third-quarter financial results. The company sees quarterly revenue of $56.5 million-$58.5 million, vs. consensus of $74.65 million.
Molekule Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MKUL) was down, falling 23% to $0.1581. Molekule Group and its subsidiary have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will operate as a debtor in possession, seeking a credit facility of $5 million from dip lenders including Foundry Group Next, Armistice Capital Master Fund, SVBC, Bridge Coast Capital.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 2.2% to $87.30 while gold traded down 0.1% at $1,841.00.
Silver traded up 0.1% to $21.38 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.3% to $3.6105.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4% London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.1% The German DAX rose 0.3% French CAC 40 rose 0.5%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.1%.
Retail sales in the Eurozone declined by 1.2% month-over-month in August versus a revised 0.1% decline in July. Producer prices in the Eurozone declined by 11.5% year-over-year in August versus a 7.6% fall a month ago. The HCOB Eurozone composite PMI edged higher to 47.2 in September from the preliminary level of 47.1.
Italy’s GDP contracted by 0.4% on quarter during the three months leading to June. The S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI rose to 49.3 in September versus a preliminary level of 47.2, while French services PMI rose to 44.4 in September from flash reading of 43.9. German services PMI increased to 50.3 in September versus the preliminary reading of 49.8.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 2.28% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.78%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 0.5%.
The au Jibun Bank Japan services PMI rose to 53.8 in September versus the preliminary reading of 53.3. The Judo Bank Australian services PMI rose to 51.8 in September compared to 47.8 in the previous month.
Economics
The ADP said private businesses in the U.S. added 89,000 workers in September, the least since Jan. 2021, and down from market estimates of 153,000.
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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 108,769,330 cases with around 1,177,850 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,998,910 cases and 531,930 deaths, while France reported over 40,138,560 COVID-19 cases with 167,640 deaths. In total, there were at least 696,101,690 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,922,740 deaths.
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