U.S. stock market indexes were initially trading in negative territory on Wednesday morning before reversing higher as the S&P 500 continues toward a record high,Ă‚ fueled by good corporate results.
Shares of 3D Systems Corp. (DDD, Financial) rose more than 30% on Wednesday morning after the company posted second-quarter earnings. The company recorded earnings per share of 6 cents on revenue of $176.57 million. It beat earnings estimates by 5 cents and revenue expectations by $10.64 million.
The GAAP gross profit margin was 48.8%, compared to 50.6% in the same quarter of the prior year. The impact of sales mix, investment in services and on-demand manufacturing offset cost improvements from ongoing supply chain cost-reduction initiatives.
Further, research and development expenses declined 7% to $22.7 million due to the shipping of new products that were previously announced.Ă‚
Gainers
- Albemarle Corp. (ALB, Financial)
- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS, Financial)
- Assurant Inc. (AIZ, Financial)
- Aetna Inc. (AET, Financial)
Losers
- Cimarex Energy Co. (XEC, Financial)
- Newell Brands Inc. (NWL, Financial)
- Southern Co. (SO, Financial)
- Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded mostly lower. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.75%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.35%, Germany's Dax lost 0.12% and Spain's Ibex 35 slid 0.26%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.08%, India’s BSE Sensex jumped 0.59%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.39% and China's Shanghai Composite retreated 1.27%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
