Nasdaq Edges Lower; Johnson & Johnson Earnings Top Estimates

U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite moving lower on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.30% to 48,632.75 while the NASDAQ fell 0.06% to 22,940.77. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.16% to 6,807.83.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares gained by 2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, consumer staples stocks dipped by 0.5%.

Top Headline

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on Wednesday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.46 per share, up 20.6% year over year, beating the consensus of $2.44. The pharmaceutical and medtech giant reported sales of $24.56 billion, up 9.1% year over year and beating the consensus of $24.16 billion.

Johnson & Johnson issued fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $11.43-$11.63, compared to the consensus of $11.45. The company expects 2026 sales of $99.50 billion-$100.5 billion compared to the consensus of $98.89 billion.

Equities Trading UP
           

• PAVmed Inc (NASDAQ:PAVM) shares shot up 246% to $21.43 after the company announced its subsidiary, Lucid Diagnostics, was awarded a contract by the Department of Veteran Affairs for its EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Test.
• Shares of Progress Software Corp (NASDAQ:PRGS) got a boost, surging 22% to $47.08 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted EPS results and issued first-quarter guidance above estimates. Also, the company issued FY26 guidance above estimates.
• Lisata Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LSTA) shares were also up, gaining 86% to $4.01 after the company announced a binding term sheet to be acquired by Kuva Labs for $4.00 per share in an all-cash tender offer.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Venus Concept Inc (NASDAQ:VERO) shares dropped 55% to $1.99 after the company announced it will delist from the Nasdaq.
• Shares of Innovation Beverage Group Ltd (NASDAQ:IBG) were down 38% to $0.96. The company announced a business update that highlighted its energy expansion and proposed merger with BlockFuel Energy.
• Gibraltar Industries Inc (NASDAQ:ROCK) was down, falling 18% to $44.70 after the company reported preliminary fourth-quarter adjusted EPS results below estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.5% to $60.09 while gold traded up 2% at $4,862.70.

Silver traded down 0.6% to $94.110 on Wednesday, while copper rose 0.4% to $5.8345.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.03%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.19%. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.27%, Germany's DAX fell 0.47% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.14% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.41%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 0.37%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.08% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.33%.

Economics

• The volume of mortgage applications in the U.S. climbed by 14.1% from the previous week during the week ending Jan. 16, following a 28.5% gain in the prior period.
• U.S. pending home sales dipped by 9.3% month-over-month in December following a 3.3% gain in November and compared to market estimates of a 0.3% decline.
• U.S. construction spending increased 0.5% month-over-month in October compared to a 0.6% gain in September and versus market expectations of a 0.1% gain.

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