U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 200 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.55% to 41,808.59 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.95% to 17,671.26. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.66% to 5,651.61.

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Leading and Lagging SectorsEnergy shares rose by 1.2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell by 0.7%.

Top Headline

The EIA said crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1.745 million barrels in the week ended March 14, compared to market estimates of a 1.1 million gain.

Equities Trading UP                       

• Service Properties Trust  (NASDAQ:SVC) shares shot up 18% to $2.94 after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock from Underweight to Overweight and raised its price target from $2.5 to $4.
• Shares of Aterian, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATER)got a boost, surging 31% to $2.7640 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
• BGM Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGM) shares were also up, gaining 16% to $11.79 after the company announced the acquisition of YX for $95 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

• HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY) shares dropped 18% to $83.35 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted EPS results.
• Shares of Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONVO) were down 30% to $0.2815 after the company announced a 1-for-12 reverse stock split.
• OmniAb, Inc. (NASDAQ:OABI) was down, falling 17% to $2.6545 following fourth-quarter earnings.

CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $67.38 while gold traded down 0.1% at $3,040.50.

Silver traded down 1.6% to $34.275 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1.2% to $5.0765.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.12%, Germany's DAX 40 fell 0.55% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.65%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.30%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.08%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.25%, China's Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 0.12% and India's BSE Sensex gaining 0.20%.

Economics

• U.S. mortgage applications declined by 6.2% in the second week of March, following a cumulative 37% increase from the two prior weeks.
• The EIA said crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1.745 million barrels in the week ended March 14, compared to market estimates of a 1.1 million gain.

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