The U.S. stock market advanced on Wednesday, with investors waiting for the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
Shares of WSI Industries Inc. (WSCI, Financial) jumped in Wednesday trading after the company posted third-quarter earnings per share of 16 cents on revenue of $9.79 million, which was 2.1% higher than the comparable period.
Michael Pudil, the company's president and CEO, said: āOur overall third quarter sales were steady with the prior year, with our sales to our largest customer being down versus the prior year due to the one-time sale of inventory on a discontinued product line in the prior year quarter.ā
Further, the company announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 4 cents per share., or 16 cents per year, representing 3% of its current market price.
Gainers
ā¢ Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOX, Financial)
ā¢ CBS Corp. (CBS, Financial)
ā¢ Aetna Inc. (AET, Financial)
ā¢ Time Warner Inc. (TWX)
Losers
ā¢ H & R Block Inc (HRB, Financial)
ā¢ Lennar Corp. (LEN, Financial)
ā¢ eBay Inc. (EBAY, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE gained 0.03%, France's CAC retreated 0.01%, Spain's Ibex slid 0.29% and Germany's Dax inched up 0.20%.
In Asia, markets closed mixed. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.38% and Indiaās BSE Sensex advanced 0.13%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.22% and ChinaĀ“s Shanghai retreated 0.97%.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
