U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading , with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 200 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded down 1.44% to 32,684.65 while the NASDAQ fell 1.89% to 10,416.00. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 1.45% to 3,772.62.
Also check this: Ethereum Dips Below $1,200; FTX Token, Solana Among Biggest Losers
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares gained 0.7% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) and Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (NASDAQ:ASPS).
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dipped by 2.8%.
Top Headline
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) shares climbed more than 7% on Wednesday after the company confirmed details surrounding layoffs in a letter to employees.
According to a new SEC filing, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to employees explaining why he plans to lay off more than 11,000 employees, reducing the size of the Meta team by about 13%.
Equities Trading UP
- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MACK) shares shot up 196% to $11.84 after partner Ipsen reported Onivyde met its primary and key secondary endpoint. Merrimack is eligible for up to $450 million in milestone payments for the pancreatic cancer treatment.
- Shares of Outset Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:OM) got a boost, shooting 35% to $15.50 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
- OptimizeRx Corporation (NASDAQ:OPRX) shares were also up, gaining 30% to $18.83 after reporting upbeat Q3 results.
Equities Trading DOWN
- Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS) shares tumbled 67% to $3.6084 after the company reported downbeat Q3 earnings and lowered FY22 sales guidance.
- Shares of Clovis Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLVS) were down 74% to $0.2594 after the company warned of a possible bankruptcy amid liquidity concerns. The company also reported Q3 earnings results.
- Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHX) was down, falling 55% to $0.5781 after the company announced pricing of a $5.5 million public offering.
Also check out: Investor Optimism Improves Further Ahead Of US Midterm Elections
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 2.7% to $86.46 while gold traded down 0.1% at $1,714.80.
Silver traded down 0.7% to $21.36 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.1% to $3.6810.
Euro zone
European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.30%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.14% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.52%. The German DAX dropped 0.16%, French CAC 40 fell 0.17% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.36%.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the Japan’s Nikkei dropping 0.56% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropping 1.2%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.53%.
Japanese current account surplus dropped to JPY 909.3 billion in September from JPY 1,653.2 billion in the same month a year ago. Chinese producer prices declined 1.3% year-over-year in October, while annual inflation fell to 2.1% year-over-year during the month. Private house approvals in Australia declined 7.8% month-over-month to 9,628 units during September, while building permits dropped 5.8% to 16,455 units.
Economics
- Wholesale inventories in the US rose by 0.6% from a month ago to $918.5 billion in September.
- US crude oil inventories increased by 3.925 million barrels in the week ended November 4th, versus market estimates of a 1.360-million-barrel rise, the Energy Information Administration said.
Check out this: Volatility In Markets Increases Amid US Midterm Elections
COVID-19 Update
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 99,697,920 cases with around 1,098,520 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,662,950 cases and 530,510 deaths, while France reported over 37,012,310 COVID-19 cases with 157,540 deaths. In total, there were at least 638,580,760 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,608,370 deaths.
