Conagra Brands Inc (NYSE: CAG) posted better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, with adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share beating market estimates of 28 cents. Sales came in at $2.596 billion, surpassing the estimated $2.589 billion.
Market performance and sector trends
U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.42% to 51,135.81, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.86% to 27,028.35. The S&P 500 gained 0.32% to close at 7,695.23.
Sector performance was divergent. Information technology shares jumped 1.2%, leading the gains, while consumer staples stocks fell 1.2%.
Notable equity movements
Several individual stocks saw significant volatility based on corporate announcements and analyst actions.
| Company |
Ticker |
Change |
Price |
Catalyst |
| Capital Bancorp Inc |
CBNK |
+12% |
$39.90 |
Merger agreement with Peoples Bancorp |
| Connect Biopharma Holdings |
CNTB |
+41% |
$1.40 |
Phase 2 study data for rademikibart |
| FormFactor Inc |
FORM |
+8% |
$147.56 |
Deutsche Bank initiated Buy rating |
| Darkiris Inc. |
DKI |
-38% |
$1.57 |
Business update on Cine3.AI expansion |
| Trulieve Cannabis Corp |
TRLV |
-12% |
$10.92 |
No specific catalyst cited |
| Rafael Holdings Inc |
RFL |
-37% |
$1.27 |
Phase 3 study results for Trappsol Cyclo |
Commodities and global markets
In commodity news, crude oil traded up 1.3% to $90.52, while gold rose 0.8% to $4,213.50. Silver increased 0.2% to $61.285, and copper climbed 0.3% to $6.62.
European shares declined, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 down 0.3%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.2%, Germany’s DAX slid 0.6%, and France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.8%.
Asian markets closed mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.94%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.37%, and China’s SSE Composite Index rose 0.31%. India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.07%.
Economic data releases
Key U.S. economic indicators showed mixed signals regarding inflation and growth:
- The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.3% month-over-month, below economists’ expectations of 0.4%.
- On an annual basis, headline PCE inflation held at 3.4%, matching July’s revised reading and below the 3.7% consensus.
- Core PCE, excluding volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% month-over-month compared with a 0.3% forecast. The annual core rate slowed to 3.0% from 3.3%, below expectations of 3.3%.
- Second-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 2.2% from 1.5%.
- U.S. private businesses added 90,000 jobs in September, above market estimates of 70,000, compared to a revised 36,000 gain in August.
- The U.S. goods trade deficit increased to $132.6 billion in August from $118.9 billion in the previous month.
- Personal income rose by 0.2% month-over-month in August, while personal consumption expenditures rose by 0.9%.
- U.S. crude inventories jumped by 0.922 million barrels to 427.3 million barrels in the week ended September 25, against estimates of a 0.3 million-barrel draw.
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