U.S. stock markets maintained a steady course midway through trading, anticipating an imminent interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow inched up by 0.03% to 39,123.89, while the NASDAQ dipped slightly by 0.01% to 16,165.15. The S&P 500 also saw a modest uptick, gaining 0.01% to reach 5,178.79.
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Sector Performance
Industrial stocks saw a 0.5% rise on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, energy shares experienced a 0.6% decline in trading.
Crude Oil Steals the Spotlight
In a dramatic turn of events, U.S. crude oil inventories plummeted by 1.952 million barrels in the week ending March 15, a stark contrast to the market’s prediction of a mere 0.013 million barrel increase.
Equities Making Strides
ETAO International Co., Ltd. ETAO witnessed a remarkable 80% surge, reaching $0.2581 as the company revealed plans for a reverse stock split.
Shares of XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. XTLB soared by an astounding 113% to $2.19 post the announcement of acquiring The Social Proxy.
TruGolf Holdings, Inc. TRUG also experienced a significant 53% increase, climbing to $1.76 following the disclosure of an expanded AI technology licensing agreement with mlSpatial.
Equities Facing Setbacks
Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. LFCR encountered a significant 31% decrease to $4.9481 following the conclusion of a strategic evaluation process, management succession announcement, and board changes.
Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. AQST dipped by 15% to $4.52. This decline followed Aquestive Therapeutics’ underwritten public offering announcement of 16,666,667 common shares at $4.50 per share, totaling $75 million.
Signet Jewelers Limited SIG observed an 11% drop to $91.07 post reporting disappointing fourth-quarter sales and offering weak guidance for FY25.
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Commodity Market Moves
In the world of commodities, oil witnessed a downward spiral of 2.2%, reaching $81.67, while gold saw a slight 0.1% decrease to $2,159.00.
Silver retreated by 0.2% to $25.09 on Wednesday, whereas copper experienced a 0.7% decline, settling at $4.0475.
Developments in the Euro Zone
European markets displayed a mixed sentiment today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 saw a marginal fall of 0.05%, while London’s FTSE 100 and Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose by 0.02% and 0.28% respectively. The German DAX also nudged up by 0.02%, but the French CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index experienced contractions of 0.59% and 0.06% respectively.
Noteworthy shifts included a 1.2% decline in industrial production in Italy for January and a 4.1% year-over-year drop in producer prices in Germany for February. In the UK, producer prices rose by 0.4% year-over-year, with the inflation rate softening to 3.4% in February.
Asia Pacific Markets in Focus
Asian markets closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising by 0.08%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.55%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex edging up by 0.1%.
The People’s Bank of China maintained benchmark lending rates at the latest fixing.
Economic Indicators Worth Noting
U.S. mortgage applications saw a 1.6% decline for the week ending March 15.
Additionally, crude oil inventories in the U.S. saw a significant reduction of 1.952 million barrels in the same week, vastly differing from the estimated slight increase of 0.013 million barrels.
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