Divine Capital Markets CEO Danielle Hughes says the technology sector and companies that pay hefty dividends are areas of the market worth exploring.
U.S. equity markets rallied on Wednesday morning, a day after snapping their five-day winning streak.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 58 points, or 0.23 percent, in the opening minutes of trading, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.33 percent and 0.64 percent, respectively.
The major averages sank Tuesday amid concerns the global economy could take longer to recover from COVID-19 lockdowns than previously expected.
The total number of infections in the U.S. is likely to cross the 3 million mark on Wednesday, with the number of new cases each day again topping 50,000. Deaths, meanwhile, which were hovering near their lowest level since March, spiked by 658 on Tuesday to 902, the highest since June 9. Data released over the past few days may have been impacted by reporting irregularities due to the holiday.
Looking at stocks, prescription drugmaker Biogen Inc. completed the submission of a Biologics License Application for its experimental Alzheimer’s treatment aducanumab. If approved, the drug would become the first to combat the disease.
Walgreens Boot Alliance Inc. announced a partnership with VillageMD that will open up to 700 doctor offices at its pharmacies over the next five years.
Allstate Corp. reached an agreement to buy insurance provider National General Holdings for almost $4 billion, or $32 a share plus a closing dividend of $2.50 for each share held.
Movie-theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. is nearing a restructuring deal that would help stave off bankruptcy, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company was forced to close over 1,000 theaters around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the earnings front, apparel-maker Levi Strauss & Co. announced plans to eliminate more than 700 jobs as COVID-19 led to a 62 percent plunge in quarterly sales.
Commodities were firm, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up 3 cents at $40.65 a barrel and gold higher by $5.10 at $1,815 an ounce.
U.S. Treasurys were little changed with the yield on the 10-year note holding near 0.655 percent.
European markets were trading lower with France’s CAC down 1.23 percent while Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE were weaker by 0.75 percent and 0.565 percent, respectively.
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In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite surged 1.74 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.59 percent and Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.78 percent.
