Nasdaq Edges Higher; CVS Health Shares Jump Following Upbeat Earnings

U.S. stocks traded mostly lower toward the end of trading, while the Nasdaq Composite edged higher on Wednesday.

The Dow traded down 0.47% to 44,381.89 while the NASDAQ rose 0.08% to 19,660.45. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.25% to 6,053.09.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares rose by 0.3% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dipped by 2.2%.

Top Headline

CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) shares jumped more than 16% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

The company posted fourth-quarter sales of $97.71 billion, beating the consensus of $97.19 billion.

Adjusted EPS of $1.19 decreased from $2.12 in the prior year, beating the consensus of $0.93, primarily due to a decline in the Health Care Benefits segment’s operating results, which reflect continued utilization pressure and the unfavorable impact of the Company’s Medicare Advantage star ratings for the 2024 payment year.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Tivic Health Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVC) shares shot up 105% to $0.4825 after the company announced it acquired the exclusive license rights from Statera Biopharma for its Phase III TLR5 agonist entolimod treatment of acute radiation syndrome.
• Shares of Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLO)got a boost, surging 108% to $1.3600 after the company announced an option-to-license collaboration agreement with AbbVie to develop novel tumor-activated antibody-based immunotherapies.
• Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) shares were also up, gaining 31% to $88.26 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued FY25 revenue guidance above estimates. Multiple analysts upgraded the stock following the report.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE:SPIR) shares dropped 52% to $9.56 after the company filed a complaint against Kpler Holding, alleging Kpler failed to close on the acquisition of Spire’s maritime business. The company said given the expected delay, it intends to seek additional equity or debt financing.
• Shares of Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ:ATOM) were down 38% to $5.40 following a fourth-quarter EPS miss and a year-over-year decline in sales results.
• Similarweb Ltd. (NASDAQ:SMWB) was down, falling 28% to $12.12 after the company missed quarterly earnings estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.4% to $71.53 while gold traded down 0.2% at $2,928.30.

Silver traded up 1.3% to $32.745 on Wednesday, while copper rose 2.2% to $4.7025.

Euro zone

European shares close higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.11%, Germany's DAX 40 rose 0.50% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.17%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 1.07%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.34%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.42%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.85%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumping 2.64% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.16%.

Economics

• U.S. mortgage applications increased by 2.3% from the previous week during the first week of February, following a 2.2% rise from the earlier week.
• The headline Consumer Price Index rose to 3% year-over-year in data released Wednesday, up 0.1 percentage points compared to December and above median economist forecasts of 2.9%, as tracked by TradingEconomics.

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