US stocks traded lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 dipping around 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also experienced a slight decline of 0.21%, closing at 41,520.08. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index followed suit, dropping 0.25% to 17,584.86. Real estate shares bucked the downward trend, rising by 0.2%, while financial stocks fell by 0.3%.
The market reacted to encouraging housing data. Housing starts in the US surged 9.6% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 1.356 million units in August. Building permits also demonstrated strong growth, increasing by 4.9% to an adjusted annual rate of 1.475 million in August.
On the corporate front, Intuitive Machines, Inc. (LUNR) shares soared 49% to $8.03 after the company announced it had been awarded a NASA Near Space Network contract for communication and navigation services. This contract holds a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion. Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (APLT) shares also experienced a significant surge, jumping 67% to $7.76. The catalyst for this surge was the FDA’s announcement that an advisory committee meeting would no longer be required for a specific drug application. PowerFleet, Inc. (AIOT) shares also gained, rising 15% to $5.32, following the company’s announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire Fleet Complete for $200 million.
Meanwhile, some stocks experienced declines. NANO Nuclear Energy Inc (NNE) shares fell 10% to $11.14. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (WHLR) shares plummeted 18% to $7.62 after the company announced a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of common stock. Cibus, Inc. (CBUS) shares fell 25% to $3.7786, following the company’s announcement of a $12 million offering of 3 million shares at $4.00 per share.
In the commodity markets, oil prices traded down 0.8% to $70.65, while gold prices climbed 0.3% to $2,599.90. Silver prices edged down 0.3% to $30.90, while copper prices increased 0.6% to $4.2990.
Across the Atlantic, European shares traded lower. The Eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.35%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.08%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.40%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dipped 0.13%, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.61%. The slowdown in Eurozone inflation, with the annual inflation rate falling to 2.2% in August from 2.6% in July, contributed to the market’s cautious mood. Construction output in the Eurozone fell by 2.2% year-over-year in July, a continuation of the decline seen in the previous month.
The UK’s annual inflation rate remained unchanged at 2.2% in August, in line with estimates. Producer prices increased 0.2% year-over-year in August.
Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.49%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.49%, while India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.16%. Japan’s trade deficit narrowed to JPY 695.30 billion in August, a decline from JPY 940.10 billion in the same period last year. This was also a smaller gap than market expectations of JPY 1,380 billion.
On the economic front, US mortgage applications surged 14.2% from the previous week in the week ending September 13th. US crude oil inventories declined by 1.630 million barrels in the week ended September 13th, exceeding market estimates of a 0.1 million decrease.
