Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.16 percent to 25,589.23 while the NASDAQ declined 0.01 percent to 7,883.04. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.01 percent to 2,858.12.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the telecommunication services shares climbed 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Partner Communications Company Ltd. PTNR 6.39% up 6 percent, and Cellcom Israel Ltd. CEL 5.29% up 6 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 1.22 percent.
Top Headline
CVS Health Corp CVS 2.87% reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised its FY18 earnings guidance.
The retail pharmacy and health care company said it earned $1.69 per share in the second quarter on revenue of $46.7 billion versus expectations of $1.61 per share and $46.34 billion. CVS now expects FY18 adjusted earnings of $6.98-$7.08 per share, versus earlier outlook of $6.87-$7.08 per share.
The company also updated its pending merger with Aetna Inc AET 2.42% and said it expects to close in early Q4 if not earlier.
Equities Trading UP
Ability Inc. ABIL 180.75% shares shot up 179 percent to $7.87.
Shares of 3D Systems Corporation DDD 31.52% got a boost, shooting up 30 percent to $17.59 following upbeat Q2 earnings.
Endo International plc ENDP 30.4% shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $15.91 after the company posted upbeat Q2 results and raised its 2018 forecast.
Equities Trading DOWN
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMPE 69.82% shares dropped 68 percent to $0.916 after the FDA said the company's trial for AP-0003-C was not adequate. The FDA is recommending Ampio performs a randomized trial.
Shares of Extreme Networks, Inc. EXTR 30.36% were down 31 percent to $6.175 after the company posted downbeat Q4 sales and issued a weak forecast for the first quarter.
Core Molding Technologies, Inc. CMT 24.96% was down, falling around 26 percent to $10.19 following Q2 results. Core Molding posted Q2 earnings of $0.06 per share on sales of $68.6 million.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 3.89 percent to $66.48 while gold traded down 0.08 percent to $1,217.30.
Silver traded up 0.01 percent Wednesday to $15.375, while copper fell 0.05 to $2.7505.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.21 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.26 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.29 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.12 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.35 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.75 percent.
Economics
Domestic crude supplies slipped 1.351 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 3, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts projected a decline of 2.3 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles gained 2.9 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 1.2 million barrels for the week.
The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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