U.S. stocks traded mostly higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 100 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.02% to 52,103.62 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.45% to 26,099.29. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.25% to 7,604.83.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares jumped by 0.7% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy stocks fell by 1.6%.

Top Headline

U.S. retail sales rose 1.2% month-over-month in August, compared to a revised 0.5% decline in July, and versus market estimates of a 0.8% gain.

Equities Trading UP
           

  • Zenta Group Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ZTG) shares shot up 205% to $2.05. Zenta Group recently announced an agreement to acquire ZentoAI Intelligent Technology Company.
  • Shares of DataMeds AI Inc (NASDAQ:MEDS) got a boost, surging 164% to $4.27 after the company announced it acquired Helomics.
  • Delixy Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:DLXY) shares were also up, gaining 118% to $0.90 after the company announced it entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Caog for acquisition or merger of up to 48% of shares in Tarbagatay Munay.

Equities Trading DOWN

  • Cuprina Holdings (Cayman) Ltd (NASDAQ:CUPR) shares dropped 48% to $1.51 after the company announced the pricing of $4.97 million public offering.
  • Shares of Xenetic Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:XBIO) were down 39% to $2.62 after the company announced a deal to acquire Santersus AG in an all-stock share exchange.
  • Myseum AI Inc (NASDAQ:MYSE) was down, falling 22% to $2.51. Myseum.AI announced that it has partnered with FUJIFILM North America Corporation to bring print-on-demand products to users of the Company’s Picture Party platform.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.8% to $103.94 while gold traded up 1.3% at $4,389.90.

Silver traded up 2% to $65.160 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1% to $6.5055.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.3%, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.6%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.69%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 0.19%, China’s Shanghai Composite rising 0.71% and India’s BSE Sensex gaining 0.45%.

Economics

  • The New York Fed’s Services Business Activity Index fell to -8.7 in September from 0.5 in the previous month.
  • U.S. export prices rose 0.6% month-over-month in August, following a 1.4% decline in July and versus market expectations of a 0.5% gain.
  • U.S. import prices rose by 0.7% month-over-month in August, compared to market estimates of a 0.4% increase.
  • U.S. retail sales rose 1.2% month-over-month in August, compared to a revised 0.5% decline in July, and versus market estimates of a 0.8% gain.
  • The volume of mortgage applications declined by 4.1% during the second week of September.

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