-- Health care stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index increasing 0.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 0.2%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 2.1%.
In corporate news, DaVita (DVA) shares jumped past 21% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and boosted its price target to $220 from $126, a day after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results.
Major digital assets were mixed Wednesday, with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) lower but holding above the $81,000 level.The CoinDesk Market Index, which tracks dozens of digital assets including Bitcoin, edged up 0.9% in the past 24 hours. The Nasdaq 100 rose 2%, the S&P 500 added 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.4%.Bitcoin eased 0.1% to $81,484, according to CoinMarketCap data. The most popular cryptocurrency's 24-hour trading volume rose 19.2% to $44.31 billion.Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second-largest digital asset by market value, declined 1% to $2,348.XRP (XRP-USD) rose 1.1%, BNB (BNB-USD) added 3%, and Solana (SOL-USD) increased 3.3%. Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) fell 0.5%, while Cardano (ADA-USD) advanced 3.2%.The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.354% at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, down from 4.413% Tuesday, while the five-year yield fell to 4.001% from 4.069%.The total market value of the cryptocurrency industry rose 0.1% in the past 24 hours to $2.69 trillion, with trading volume gaining 0.2% to $164.69 billion.Price: $81478.78, Change: $+578.01, Percent Change: +0.71%
Radisson Mining Resources (RDS.V) said Wednesday it upsized a bought-deal private placement of flow-through shares to $22 million from $20 Million.The company is selling underwriters 15.9-million flow-through shares priced at $1.38 each to raise $22 million. The underwriters also have an over-allotment option to acquire a further $3 million of the shares if demand warrants.The offering is expected to close around May 28, pending regulatory approvals, including from the TSX Venture Exchange, the company added.The company's shares were last seen down $0.04 to $1.05 on the TSX Venture Exchange.Price: $1.05, Change: $-0.04, Percent Change: -3.67%
US equity indexes jumped ahead of Wednesday's close, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite breaking records as a potential Iran peace deal was said to be in the offing, and Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) Q1 results sparked a rally in semiconductors.The Nasdaq traded 1.9% higher at 25,794.3 after touching a record 25,814.50 intraday. The S&P 500 was up 1.4% to 7,362.2 after hitting an all-time high of 7,363.40 earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.4% to 49,958.3.The White House is close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war with Iran and set a framework for more detailed negotiations about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Axios reported, citing two US officials and two other sources briefed on the issue. While nothing is final yet, the sources said this was the closest the duo has been to an agreement since the war began.Washington's MoU, if Iran accepts it, will lead to a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifting of the American blockade on Iranian ports, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump warned Iran that "bombing starts" again if a deal is not reached, according to multiple media reports.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures sank 7.2% to $94.88, and Brent crude futures plunged 8.1% to $100.98.In company news, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares surged nearly 18%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the chipmaker overnight posted stronger-than-expected fiscal Q1 results and issued an upbeat Q2 revenue outlook.