U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 250 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.59% to 42,994.38 while the NASDAQ fell 0.05% to 18,306.79. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.19% to 5,826.42.

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Leading and Lagging SectorsUtilities shares jumped by 0.8% on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.5%.

Top Headline

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.03, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 99 cents. Quarterly revenues of $6.864 billion missed the analyst consensus estimate of $6.895 billion.

Equities Trading UP                       

• 180 Life Sciences Corp (NASDAQ:ATNF) shares shot up 713% to $12.36. 180 Life Sciences interim CEO said that the company is planning to enter the online gaming industry with its newly acquired gaming technology platform.
• Shares of Altus Power, Inc. (NYSE:AMPS) got a boost, surging 15% to $3.48 after the company announced that a formal review of strategic alternatives has been underway by its Board of Directors. Also, the company reaffirmed its FY24 guidance.
• Versus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VS) shares were also up, gaining 399% to $5.64 after the company announced a $2.5 million investment and licensing agreement with ASPIS.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Bright Minds Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:DRUG) shares dropped 37% to $24.24. Firefly Neuroscience collaborated with Bright Minds Biosciences to analyze the data from its positive Phase 1 study using its Artificial Intelligence.
• Shares of Silvaco Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SVCO) were down 25% to $8.34 after the company reported a decline in orders from Asia during third quarter and cut its FY24 revenue outlook.
• Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was down, falling 17% to $10.45 after the FDA placed a clinical hold on the company’s investigational new drug application for its COVID-19-influenza combination and standalone influenza vaccine candidates.

CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded down 0.2% to $70.46 while gold traded up 0.6% at $2,694.90.

Silver traded up 1.6% to $32.270 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1% to $4.3810.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.02%, Germany's DAX gained 0.1% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.17%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.75%, while London's FTSE 100 gained 1.15%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 1.83%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.16%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.05% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.39%.

Economics

• U.S. mortgage applications fell by 17% from the previous week during the second week of October.
• Export prices in the U.S. declined by 0.7% month-over-month in September, exceeding market estimates of a 0.4% fall.
• Import prices declined by 0.4% from the previous month in September.

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