U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 150 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded down 0.39% to 38,412.53 while the NASDAQ fell 1.06% to 15,464.67. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.47% to 4,952.19.
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Market Movement in Sectors
Energy shares rose by 1.7% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares fell by 1.7%.
Significant Market Developments
The minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting underscored the Federal Reserve’s commitment to await more concrete evidence of a disinflationary trend before contemplating interest rate reductions.
According to the Fed statement, the FOMC emphasized that it anticipates maintaining interest rates steady “until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”
Strong Performers in Equities
MediaAlpha, Inc. MAX shares shot up 23% to $19.43 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
Shares of Gentherm Incorporated THRM got a boost, surging 20% to $58.91 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance.
Motus GI Holdings, Inc. MOTS shares were also up, gaining 64% to $1.0701 after the company was granted U.S. Patent #11904085 for ‘Systems And Methods For Cleaning A Colon.’
Weakened Performers in Equities
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. PANW shares dropped 28% to $263.05 after the company issued third-quarter adjusted EPS and total revenue guidance below estimates.
Shares of U Power Limited UCAR were down 26% to $0.0758 after the company received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to its ordinary shares’ closing bid price falling below $0.10 for ten consecutive trading days, as per the Low Priced Stocks Rule.
Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH was down, falling 27% to $2.9350 after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results.
Commodities Overview
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $77.94 while gold traded down 0.2% at $2,035.50.
Silver traded down 0.9% to $22.925 on Wednesday while copper rose 0.2% to $3.8745.
Economic Activity in Europe
European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.17%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.73% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.69% The German DAX gained 0.29% French CAC 40 rose 0.22% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.00%.
The Confederation of British Industry survey’s total order book balance climbed by 10 points to a reading of -20 in February.
Influence of Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.26%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 1.57%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.97% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex falling 0.59%.
Japanese trade deficit narrowed to JPY 1,758.311 billion in January from JPY 3,506.43 billion in the year-ago month. Exports from Japan surged by 11.9% year-over-year, while imports to Japan dipped 9.6% year-over-year.
Economic Indicators
U.S. mortgage applications fell by 10.6% on the week ending Feb. 16, 2024.
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