Dow Surges 350 Points; Fed Holds Rates Steady
U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged.
The Dow traded up 0.91% to 39,467.76 while the NASDAQ rose 1.08% to 16,341.42. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.78% to 5,218.70.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Industrials shares rose by 0.4% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, health care shares fell by 0.7%.
Top Headline
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday between 5.25% and 5.5% at its March meeting, as widely expected by investors, confirming intentions to lower the cost of money in the coming months.
Equities Trading UP
ETAO International Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:ETAO) shares shot up 87% to $0.2670. The company announced a reverse stock split.
Shares of XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:XTLB) got a boost, surging 90% to $1.96 after the company announced plans to acquire The Social Proxy.
TruGolf Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRUG) shares were also up, gaining 48% to $1.70 after the company announced a newly expanded AI technology licensing agreement with mlSpatial.
Equities Trading DOWN
Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFCR) shares dropped 32% to $4.9050 after the company announced it concluded its strategic evaluation process, announced management succession and board changes.
Shares of Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST) were down 16% to $4.47. Aquestive Therapeutics priced its $75 million underwritten public offering of 16,666,667 common shares at $4.50 per share.
Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) was down, falling 10% to $92.17 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter sales and issued weak FY25 guidance.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 2% to $81.84 while gold traded up 1.3% at $2,187.90.
Silver traded up 2.6% to $25.80 on Wednesday, while copper rose 0.4% to $4.0890.
Euro zone
European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.05%, London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.01% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.48% The German DAX rose 0.15% French CAC 40 fell 0.48% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.09%.
Industrial production in Italy declined by 1.2% month-over-month in January compared to a revised 1.2% surge in December. Producer prices in Germany fell by 4.1% year-over-year in February.
UK’s producer prices increased by 0.4% year-over-year in February, while inflation rate eased to 3.4% year-over-year in February.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 0.08%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.55% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.1%.
The People's Bank of China held benchmark lending rates at the recent fixing.
Economics
U.S. mortgage applications declined by 1.6% on the week ending March 15.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined by 1.952 million barrels in the week ended March 15, versus market estimates of a 0.013 million gain.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged between 5.25% and 5.5% at its March meeting.
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