US stock markets opened strong on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 150 points, signaling a positive start to the trading day. The Dow climbed by 0.41% to reach 42,406.57, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ rose by 0.33% to 18,774.25. The S&P 500 also experienced a positive day, gaining 0.23% to reach 5,846.61.
Leading the charge on Wednesday were communication services shares, which surged by a notable 2.7%. In contrast, healthcare shares lagged behind, falling by 0.8%.
One of the key drivers of the market’s positive sentiment was Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) strong third-quarter earnings report, which came in above analysts’ expectations. The tech giant reported revenue of $88.27 billion, representing a 15% year-over-year increase. This outperformed the Street’s consensus estimate of $86.31 billion.
Several individual stocks also saw significant movement on Wednesday. Tharimmune, Inc. (THAR) shares soared by 125% to $4.56 after the company received positive feedback from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) regarding its TH104 clinical program. The EMA deemed the proposed Phase 2 study’s design and main features acceptable and also provided guidance for a future Phase 3 study.
Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (ENSC) shares also experienced a strong surge, rising by 61% to $0.6722. This positive movement came after the company announced favorable news. Reddit, Inc. (RDDT) shares rose by 40% to $114.73 following the company’s announcement of better-than-expected third-quarter financial results and the issuance of fourth-quarter revenue guidance that surpassed estimates.
However, not all stocks performed well on Wednesday. SRIVARU Holding Limited (SVMH) shares plummeted by 58% to $0.0287 after the company announced an upsized $6.8 million public offering. Vicinity Motor Corp. (VEV) shares also experienced a steep decline, dropping by 48% to $0.0252, following the resignation of all members of the company’s board of directors. Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN) shares fell by 38% to $0.1975 after the company announced the pricing of a registered direct offering of 20,312,500 shares at $0.32 per share. This announcement was accompanied by the news of a concurrent private placement.
In the commodity markets, oil prices rose by 1.5% to $68.23, while gold gained 0.4% to $2,792.20. Silver experienced a decline of 1.3% to $34.00, while copper rose by 0.1% to $4.3625.
European equities markets traded lower on Wednesday. The Eurozone’s STOXX 600 index dipped by 1%, while Germany’s DAX fell by 0.27% and France’s CAC 40 slipped by 0.61%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index also declined by 0.6%, and London’s FTSE 100 fell by 0.80%.
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.96%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped by 1.55%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.61%, and India’s BSE Sensex dropped by 0.53%.
