Dow Edges Higher; QuidelOrtho Shares Plummet

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 100 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.11% to 38,313.27 while the NASDAQ rose 0.70% to 15,765.18. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.49% to 4,977.43.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrials shares rose by 1.1% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. surged by 12.018 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 9, compared to market estimates of a 2.56 million rise.

Equities Trading UP

enGene Holdings Inc. ENGN shares shot up 83% to $13.95. The company’s CEO Jason Hanson is resigning due to personal family and health reasons, though he will continue to support the company as a strategic advisor after a successor is appointed. Concurrently, enGene announced a private placement of 20 million common shares at $10.00 per share, representing a 31% premium over the previous day’s closing price.

Shares of Lyft, Inc. LYFT got a boost, surging 33% to $16.10 after the company reported fourth-quarter sales of $1.22 billion and gross bookings of $3.7 billion, up 17% year-over-year. The company’s CFO, Erin Brewer, said the adjusted EBITDA margin is projected to expand 50 basis points in 2024.

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. HCSG shares were also up, gaining 26% to $11.91 following upbeat earnings.

Equities Trading DOWN

Azitra, Inc. AZTR shares dropped 71% to $0.2540. Azitra priced its $5 million public offering of 16.667 million common shares at $0.30 per share.

Shares of QuidelOrtho Corporation QDEL were down 29% to $47.17 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued FY24 adjusted EPS below estimates.

Ohmyhome Limited OMH was down, falling 38% to $1.40 after the company priced its upsized $4.8 million public offering of 3,555,555 ordinary shares at $1.35 per share.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.2% to $76.95 while gold traded down 0.2% at $2,004.20.

Silver traded up 1.2% to $22.425 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.3% to $3.6985.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.50%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.75% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.09% The German DAX rose 0.38% French CAC 40 rose 0.68% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.63%.

The Eurozone economy stagnated in the final quarter of 2023, compared to a 0.1% decline in the prior three-month period. Industrial production in the Eurozone increased by 2.6% month-over-month in December.

The UK’s inflation rate came in unchanged at 4.0% in January, compared to market estimates of 4.2%. Factory gate prices of goods produced by UK manufacturers fell 0.6% year-over-year in January following a 0.1% increase in December.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.69%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 0.84% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining around 0.5%.

India’s wholesale prices increased by 0.27% year-over-year in January, compared to 0.73% in December.

Economics

U.S. mortgage applications declined by 2.3% in the week ending Feb. 9, compared to a 3.7% increase in the prior week.

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. surged by 12.018 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 9, compared to market estimates of a 2.56 million rise.

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