Dow Surges Over 200 Points; US Crude Oil Inventories Increase More than Expected

Author: Avi Kapoor | March 19, 2025 11:09am

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 200 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.55% to 41,808.59 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.95% to 17,671.26. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.66% to 5,651.61.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose by 1.2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell by 0.7%.

Top Headline

The EIA said crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1.745 million barrels in the week ended March 14, compared to market estimates of a 1.1 million gain.

Equities Trading UP

Service Properties Trust (NASDAQ:SVC) shares shot up 18% to $2.94 after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock from Underweight to Overweight and raised its price target from $2.5 to $4.
Shares of Aterian, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATER)got a boost, surging 31% to $2.7640 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
BGM Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGM) shares were also up, gaining 16% to $11.79 after the company announced the acquisition of YX for $95 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY) shares dropped 18% to $83.35 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted EPS results.
Shares of Organovo Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ONVO) were down 30% to $0.2815 after the company announced a 1-for-12 reverse stock split.
OmniAb, Inc. (NASDAQ:OABI) was down, falling 17% to $2.6545 following fourth-quarter earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $67.38 while gold traded down 0.1% at $3,040.50.

Silver traded down 1.6% to $34.275 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1.2% to $5.0765.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.12%, Germany's DAX 40 fell 0.55% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.65%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.30%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.08%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.25%, China's Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 0.12% and India's BSE Sensex gaining 0.20%.

Economics

U.S. mortgage applications declined by 6.2% in the second week of March, following a cumulative 37% increase from the two prior weeks.
The EIA said crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1.745 million barrels in the week ended March 14, compared to market estimates of a 1.1 million gain.

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