Benzinga | Oct 21, 2020 10:09AM EDT

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Verizon Earnings Top Estimates

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.42% to 28429.02 while the NASDAQ rose 0.61% to 11586.72. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.51% to 3460.54.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 8,275,060 cases with around 221,080 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 7,651,100 confirmed cases and 115,910 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,273,950 COVID-19 cases with 154,830 deaths. In total, there were at least 40,846,860 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,125,750 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 2.1% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP), up 28%, and 9F Inc. (NASDAQ:JFU), up 34%.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views.

Verizon reported quarterly earnings of $1.25 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.22 per share. The company posted sales of $31.50 billion, missing expectations of $31.59 billion. Verizon reported 136,000 retail postpaid net additions during the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shares shot up 28% to $36.41 after the company reported upbeat earnings and sales for the third quarter. The company reported Q3 daily active users climbed 18% year-over-year to 249 million.

Shares of Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) got a boost, shooting 28% to $27.00 after the company announced upbeat Q3 results.

Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:MFH) shares were also up, gaining 23% to $3.4399.



Equities Trading DOWN

Weidai Ltd. (NYSE:WEI) shares tumbled 48% to $2.675 on profit-taking after the stock rose roughly 160% yesterday.

Shares of GSX Techedu Inc. (NYSE:GSX) were down 25% to $77.09 following a report suggesting the company sees a Q3 loss of RMB900 million.

Jupai Holdings Limited (NYSE:JP) was down, falling 19% to $1.9897.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.7% to $40.99, while gold traded up 0.4% to $1,922.70.

Silver traded up 0.7% Wednesday to $25.145 while copper rose 1.1% to $3.1835.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 1%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 slipped 0.9%, French CAC 40 fell 1% and London's FTSE 100 fell 1.2%.

The Consumer Price Index for Britain rose 0.4% in September, missing the consensus of 0.5% growth. UK's PPI output for September declined 0.1% month-over-month, while Retail Price Index rose 0.3%.

Economics

The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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

The Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.