Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; General Mills Posts Mixed Q1 Results

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.13% to 27075.25 while the NASDAQ fell 0.22% to 8167.61. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.15% to 3001.09.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed 0.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included PG&E Corporation PCG, up 7%, and Dominion Energy, Inc. D, up 2%.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

General Mills, Inc. GIS reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.

General Mills reported first-quarter earnings of 79 cents per share Wednesday, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 77 cents. The company reported quarterly sales of $4.003 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $4.08 billion.


Equities Trading UP

SPI Energy Co., Ltd. SPI shares shot up 68% to $3.62 after the company announced the launch of its newly established hemp and CBD business. The company also announced it has formed a partnership with the Navajo Nation.

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. LXRX got a boost, shooting up 14% to $3.36 after two company insiders bought shares totaling $1.054 million. NOTE: When an insiders buy shares, the market may perceive it as a sign of confidence in the company's outlook.

DAVIDsTEA Inc. DTEA shares were also up, gaining 21% to $2.0649 after reporting Q2 results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ZYNE shares tumbled 21% to $8.93 after Zygel safety data showed 96% of patients experienced a treatment emergent adverse event.

Shares of Adesto Technologies Corporation IOTS were down 14% to $9.10 after the company announced a proposal for a private offering of convertible senior notes due 2024.

FedEx Corporation FDX was down, falling 14% to $148.81 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results. The company also cut FY20 sales guidance.
 

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $58.93, while gold traded down 0.3% to $1,508.80.

Silver traded down 1.2% Wednesday to $17.915, while copper fell 0.8% to $2.607.

Euro zone


European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.6%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.1%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.2% while UK shares rose 0.2%.

Economics

U.S. housing starts rose 12% to an annual rate of 1.36 million in August, versus a revised 1.22 million in July. Permits increased 8% to an annual pace of 1.42 million.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.