Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up Over 3%; Cancer Genetics Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.26% to 27861.20 while the NASDAQ rose 0.01% to 8571.69. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.10% to 3,117.12.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 0.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Target Corporation TGT 12.09%, up 13%, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company HMHC 7.85%, up 8%.

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

Target Corporation TGT 12.09% reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY19 earnings forecast.

Target posted quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.19 per share. Its sales came in at $18.7 billion, beating expectations of $18.49 billion. Same-store sales increased 4.5% during the quarter.

Target raised its FY19 adjusted EPS guidance from $5.90-$6.20 to $6.25-$6.45.

Equities Trading UP

Cancer Genetics, Inc. CGIX 211.46% shares shot up 178% to $5.78 after the company announced it has retained H.C. Wainwright to explore strategic alternatives.

Shares of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. DFFN 85.08% got a boost, shooting up 102% to $0.4434 after the company reported increased survival rates in the lead-in portion of the Phase 3 Glioblastoma study.

Aravive, Inc. ARAV 79.11% shares were also up, gaining 80% to $11.73 after the company reported new positive data from its Phase 1b trial of AVB-500. The data from the study affirmed high levels of AVB-500 were strongly predictive of anti-tumor activity with statistically significant correlation to progression-free survival, which is the primary endpoint.

Equities Trading DOWN

Berry Petroleum Corporation BRY 20.11% shares tumbled 20% to $7.15 after multiple firms downgraded the stock.

Shares of Pinduoduo Inc. PDD 21.79% were down 19% to $32.85 after the company reported worse-than-expected third-quarter EPS and sales results.

LAIX Inc. LAIX 28.59% was down, falling 23% to $2.52 after the company reported Q3 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.2% to $56.95, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,471.40.

Silver traded down 0.2% Wednesday to $17.09, while copper rose 0.1% to $2.66.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.53%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.35%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.01%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.52%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.35% while UK shares fell 0.83%.

Economics

U.S. crude supplies climbed 1.4 million barrels for the week ended November 15, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a rise of 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies gained 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks slipped 1 million barrels last week.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.