Benzinga | Apr 21, 2021 10:19AM EDT

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Rise; Verizon Earnings Beat Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.44% to 33,969.20 while the NASDAQ rose 0.05% to 13,793.07. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.23% to 4,144.29.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 31,793,500 cases with around 568,470 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 15,616,130 cases and 182,550 deaths, while Brazil reported over 14,043,070 COVID-19 cases with 378,000 deaths. In total, there were at least 143,022,870 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 3,046,430 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Materials shares rose 1.1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Sierra Metals Inc. (NYSE:SMTS), up 13%, and Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBII), up 8%.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell 1.3%.

Top Headline

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Verizon reported quarterly earnings of $1.31 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.29 per share. The company's quarterly sales came in at $32.90 billion, versus expectations of $32.46 billion.

Verizon said it sees FY21 adjusted EPS of $5.00-$5.15, versus analysts' estimates of $5.08.

Equities Trading UP

Welbilt, Inc. (NYSE:WBT) shares shot up 33% to $20.81 after The Middleby Corp announced plans to acquire the company.

Shares of Acme United Corporation (NYSE:ACU) got a boost, shooting 21% to $45.71. Acme United recently reported better-than-expected Q1 sales.

inTEST Corporation (NYSE:INTT) shares were also up, gaining 16% to $11.05.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Troika Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRKA) shares tumbled 14% to $2.67. Troika Media shares dipped around 25% on Tuesday after the company priced its IPO at $4.15 per share.

Shares of Mechanical Technology, Incorporated (NASDAQ:MKTY) were down 12% to $7.59 .

Planet Green Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PLAG) was down, falling 9% to $2.1899.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $61.83, while gold traded up 0.2% to $1,781.60.

Silver traded up 0.5% Wednesday to $25.98 while copper rose 0.8% to $4.2445.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.6%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.7% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.3%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 rose 0.8% London's FTSE 100 rose 0.5% and Italy's FTSE MIB gained 0.3%.

Annual inflation rate in the UK rose to 0.7% in March from 0.4% in February, while producer prices rose 1.9% year-over-year in March.

Economics

The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 20-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here