Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.13% to 27727.06 while the NASDAQ fell 0.27% to 8,463.39. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.09% to 3,089.09.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities shares climbed 1.5% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Companhia Paranaense de Energia - COPEL (NYSE: ELP), up 5%, and UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI), up 3%.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.8%.
Top Headline
Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPB) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
Spectrum Brands reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.1 per share. Its sales came in at $993 million, versus expectations of $987.21 million.
Equities Trading UP
Nortech Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: NSYS) shares shot up 100% to $5.57 after the company reported Q3 results.
Shares of Electromed, Inc. (NYSE: ELMD) got a boost, shooting up 27% to $9.01 after the company announced upbeat Q1 results.
Cardlytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDLX) shares were also up, gaining 39% to $55.31 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results. The company also issued FY19 sales guidance above analyst estimates.
Equities Trading DOWN
Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) shares tumbled 74% to $5.02 after the company reported pricing of upsized $12.0 million underwritten public offering.
Shares of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DFFN) were down 50% to $0.2652 after the company announced a $4 million offering of common stock and warrants.
Exela Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: XELA) was down, falling 41% to $0.3515 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q3 EPS and sales results. The company also issued FY19 sales guidance below analyst estimates.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.6% to $57.15, while gold traded up 0.9% to $1,466.90.
Silver traded up 1.7% Wednesday to $16.98, while copper fell 0.4% to $2.635.
Euro zone
European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.26%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.21%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.82%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.4%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.21% while UK shares fell 0.19%.
Economics
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% for October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3% increase.
The U.S. government posted a $134 billion budget deficit in October, according to data released by the Treasury Department. However, analysts were projecting a $133 billion deficit for the month.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak in Wilmington, Delaware at 7:30 p.m. ET.