U.S. stocks traded slightly higher toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.2% on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.07% to 42,186.44 while the NASDAQ gained 0.24% to 17,952.61. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.03% to 5,710.22.

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Leading and Lagging SectorsInformation technology shares jumped by 0.6% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, consumer staples shares dipped by 1%.

Top Headline

ConAgra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results.

ConAgra reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 53 cents, missing the analyst consensus of 60 cents. Net sales of $2.79 billion (down 3.8%) missed the street view of $2.84 billion.

Equities Trading UP                       

• Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) shares shot up 25% to $6.02 after the company announced that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of the electric air taxi.
• Shares of RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) got a boost, surging 7% to $128.37 after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter adjusted EPS results.
• MMTec, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTC) shares were also up, gaining 46% to $0.6818. Shares of US-listed Chinese stocks traded higher on continued strength following recent stimulus measures and the start of the National Day Golden Week.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares dropped 13% to $242.64 after the company provided update on decline in Stars performance for 2025 and how it will impact quality bonus payments in 2026.
• Shares of Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGRX) were down 34% to $2.35 after the company announced it will be delisted from the Nasdaq.
• Aditxt Inc (NASDAQ:ADTX) was down, falling 30% to $3.1318. Aditxt recently announced a 1-for-40 reverse stock split.

CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 0.4% to $70.08 while gold traded down 0.7% at $2,672.80.

Silver traded up 0.8% to $31.980 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1.3% to $4.65.

Euro zone

European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.05%, Germany's DAX fell 0.25% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.05%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.55%, while London's FTSE 100 gained 0.17%.

The unemployment rate in the Eurozone came in unchanged from the previous month at 6.4% in August.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dipping 2.18% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumping 6.20%.

Economics

• Private businesses in the U.S. added 143,000 workers to their payrolls during the month of September compared to a revised 103,000 gain in August and higher than market estimates of 124,000, the ADP said.
• The EIA said crude oil inventories in the U.S. climbed by 3.889 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 27, versus market estimates of a 1.3 million decline.

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