Mid-day market update: Crude Oil down over 3%; Astrotech shares spike higher

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.05% to 28323.04 while the NASDAQ rose 0.20% to 11,539.10. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.18% to 3,449.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 8,275,060 cases with around 221,080 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 7,651,100 confirmed cases and 115,910 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,273,950 COVID-19 cases with 154,830 deaths. In total, there were at least 40,846,860 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,125,750 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 1.7% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Snap Inc. SNAP 33.72%, up 34%, and 9F Inc. JFU 23.57%, up 14%.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.8%.

Top Headline

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ 0.65% reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views.

Verizon reported quarterly earnings of $1.25 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.22 per share. The company posted sales of $31.50 billion, missing expectations of $31.59 billion. Verizon reported 136,000 retail postpaid net additions during the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Snap Inc. SNAP 33.72% shares shot up 35% to $38.30 after the company reported upbeat earnings and sales for the third quarter. The company reported Q3 daily active users climbed 18% year-over-year to 249 million.

Shares of Calix, Inc. CALX 21.54% got a boost, shooting 23% to $26.08 after the company announced upbeat Q3 results.

Astrotech Corporation ASTC 106.63% shares were also up, gaining 98% to $3.2925 after the company announced partnership with Cleveland Clinic to develop a rapid COVID-19 breath test.

Equities Trading DOWN

Weidai Ltd. WEI 56.99% shares tumbled 54% to $2.37 on profit-taking after the stock rose roughly 160% yesterday.

Shares of GSX Techedu Inc. GSX 27.38% were down 27% to $75.23 following a report suggesting the company sees a Q3 loss of RMB900 million.

Armstrong Flooring, Inc. AFI 26.96% was down, falling 28% to $3.7713 after reporting a drop in quarterly earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 3.3% to $40.32, while gold traded up 0.7% to $1,929.60.

Silver traded up 0.9% Wednesday to $25.205 while copper rose 1.4% to $3.1920.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.28%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.74%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.88%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 slipped 1.43%, French CAC 40 fell 1.6% and London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.97%.

The Consumer Price Index for Britain rose 0.4% in September, missing the consensus of 0.5% growth. UK’s PPI output for September declined 0.1% month-over-month, while Retail Price Index rose 0.3%.

Economics

U.S. crude inventories dropped 1 million barrels for the week ended October 16, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a decline of 1.9 million barrels. Gasoline supply fell 1.9 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 3.8 million barrels last week.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 20-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.