U.S. stocks traded mostly higher toward the end of trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 300 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded up 0.78% to 39,589.55 while the NASDAQ fell 0.02% to 16,312.74. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.36% to 5,222.18.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities shares jumped by 2% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell by 0.5%.
Top Headline
Cintas Corporation CTAS reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results and raised FY24 guidance.
Cintas posted GAAP earnings of $3.84 per share, beating market estimates of $3.59 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $2.406 billion, versus expectations of $2.386 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Cintas increased FY24 annual revenue expectations from $9.48 billion-$9.56 billion to $9.57 billion-$9.60 billion (estimate: $9.56 billion). The firm raised EPS outlook from $14.35-$14.65 to $14.80-$15.00 (estimate: $14.60).
Equities Trading UP
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. 
LIXT shares shot up 44% to $3.2571 after the company announced the publication of pre-clinical data on its lead clinical compound, LB-100.
Shares of MariaDB plc 
MRDB got a boost, surging 91% to $0.4311 after Progress Software announced that it is possibly considering an offer for the company.
PaySign, Inc. 
PAYS shares were also up, gaining 19% to $4.01 after the company announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Equities Trading DOWN
Gamida Cell Ltd. 
GMDA shares dropped 83% to $0.0591 after the company reported fourth-quarter results and disclosed the commencement of a restructuring process.
Shares of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. 
DRCT were down 38% to $16.36 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
Velo3D, Inc. 
VLD was down, falling 42% to $0.3339 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.5% to $81.19 while gold traded up 0.6% at $2,211.80.
Silver traded up 0.3% to $24.705 on Wednesday, while copper fell 0.2% to $4.0000.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.13%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.01% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.09% The German DAX rose 0.50% French CAC 40 rose 0.25% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.21%.
The economic sentiment indicator in the eurozone climbed to a three-month high level of 96.3 in March, while services confidence indicator rose to 6.3 from 6 a month ago. The consumer confidence indicator in the eurozone increased by 0.6 points to a reading of -14.9 in March.
Spain posted a current account surplus of €5,127 million in January, higher than the €2,340 million surplus recorded in year-ago period, while consumer price inflation rate accelerated to 3.2% year-over-year in March. The construction output in Italy surged by 14.8% year-over-year in January, while consumer confidence indicator in France climbed to 91 in March.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.90%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.36%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipping 1.26% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.73%.
Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms jumped by 10.2% year-over-year to CNY 914.06 billion during the first two months of the year.
Economics
U.S. mortgage applications declined by 0.7% on the week ending March 22, 2024.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 3.165 million barrels in the week ended March 22, compared to market estimates of a 1.275 million decline, the Energy Information Administration said.
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