U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Dow Jones dropping more than 200 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.73% to 30,095.06 while the NASDAQ fell 1.29% to 11,031.97. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.98% to 3,753.81. Also check this: Bitcoin Surges Past This Key Level; Here Are The Top Crypto Movers For Wednesday

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 1.2% on Wednesday. Leading the sector was strength from Nine Energy Service, Inc. (NYSE:NINE) and Alpine Summit Energy Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPS).

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 2.2%.

Top Headline

Private businesses in the US added 208,000 jobs in September versus a revised 185,000 in August. The latest reading came in above market expectations of 200,000.

Equities Trading UP

• Nauticus Robotics, Inc. (NASDAQ:KITT) shares shot up 74% to $5.59 after the company said it was awarded a second multi-million dollar contract by the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit for the development of an amphibious unmanned system.
• Shares of SHF Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHFS) got a boost, shooting 46% to $7.37.
• Top Ships Inc. (NASDAQ:TOPS) shares were also up, gaining 36% to $7.41. TOP Ships recently reported a 412% surge in net income for the six months ended June 30.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATXI) shares tumbled 35% to $9.41.
• Shares of AeroClean Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AERC) were down 26% to $4.40. AeroClean Technologies shares jumped 85% on Tuesday after the company and Molekule announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the companies in an all-stock merger.
• Senti Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTI) was down, falling 26% to $3.82 after jumping over 105% on Tuesday. B of A Securities recently initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and $7 price target.

Also check out: Dow Jumps Over 800 Points, Volatility In Markets Decreases

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.4% to $86.85, while gold traded down 0.7% at $1,718.00.

Silver traded down 4.2% to $20.205 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.2% to $3.4815.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.6%. The German DAX dropped 1%, French CAC 40 fell 0.8% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.4%.

The S&P Global Eurozone services PMI was revised down to 48.8 in September versus a preliminary level of 48.9, while composite PMI fell to 48.1 in September from a preliminary reading of 48.2.

The S&P Global Germany’s services PMI was revised lower to 45 in September versus a preliminary reading of 45.4, while French services PMI was revised lower to 52.9 in September from a flash reading of 53. Industrial production in France rose 2.4% from the prior month in August. The S&P Global Spain services PMI dropped to 48.5 in September from 50.6 in the previous month.

Economics

• Private businesses in the US added 208,000 jobs in September versus a revised 185,000 in August. The latest reading came in above market expectations of 200,000.
• The trade deficit in the US shrank to $67.4 billion in August, recording the lowest level since May last year. Imports to the US fell by $3.7 billion from a month ago to $326.3 in August, while exports fell by $0.7 billion to $258.9 billion.
• The S&P Global services PMI was revised higher to 49.3 in September from a preliminary level of 49.2.
• The ISM services PMI fell to 56.7 in September from 56.9 in August. However, the latest reading exceeded market estimates of 56.
• The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Check out this: Fear Among US Investors Is Decreasing, Here's Why

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 98,308,950 cases with around 1,085,360 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,601,930 cases and 528,730 deaths, while France reported over 35,573,130 COVID-19 cases with 155,270 deaths. In total, there were at least 624,421,150 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,553,480 deaths.