U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 100 points on Wednesday.



The Dow traded up 0.60% to 46,402.31 while the NASDAQ rose 0.63% to 21,899.66. The S&amp;P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.49% to 6,588.77.



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Leading and Lagging Sectors



Materials shares climbed by 2% on Wednesday.



In trading on Wednesday, energy stocks fell by 0.2%.



Top Headline



Cintas Corp (NASDAQ:CTAS) posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit and raised its full-year forecast.



The company reported third-quarter earnings per share of $1.24, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.23. Quarterly sales of $2.84 billion, up 8.9% year over year, beat the Street view of $2.821 billion.



The company raised FY2026 sales outlook from $11.150 billion-$11.220 billion to $11.210 billion-$11.240 billion versus street view of $11.205 billion.



Equities Trading UP            



<ul>
<li>Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares shot up 30% to $22.90 after the company announced that early results from Phase 1/2 studies of SRP-1001 for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 1 and SRP-1003 for myotonic dystrophy type 1. Also, the company generated proof-of-concept data for SRP-1001 and SRP-1003.</li>



<li>Shares of Braze Inc (NASDAQ:BRZE) got a boost, surging 21% to $21.72 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results and issued FY27 sales guidance above estimates. Also, the company announced a $100 million share buyback.</li>



<li>Arm Holdings PLC – ADR (NASDAQ:ARM) shares were also up, gaining 18% to $159.00 after the company announced that it expects its new AGI CPU to generate approximately $15 billion in annual revenue in five years.</li>
</ul>



Equities Trading DOWN



<ul>
<li>Anavex Life Sciences Corp (NASDAQ:AVXL) shares dropped 35% to $2.74 after the company announced that it withdrew its application for European Medicines Agency marketing authorization of blarcamesine in the EU as an add-on therapy for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease in adults.</li>



<li>Shares of Maze Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MAZE) were down 33% to $32.75 after the company announced fourth-quarter results.</li>



<li>Velo3D Inc (NASDAQ:VELO) was down, falling 22% to $10.60 after the company reported quarterly financial results. Also, the company announced the appointment of James Suva as CFO.</li>
</ul>



Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 1.7% to $90.74 while gold traded up 3.4% at $4,551.10.



Silver traded up 4.3% to $72.555 on Wednesday, while copper rose 2% to $5.56.



Euro zone



European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.42%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 1.54%. London's FTSE 100 rose 1.42%, Germany's DAX gained 1.41% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.33% during the session.



Asia Pacific Markets



Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 2.87%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gaining 1.09%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.30% and India's BSE Sensex surging 1.63%.



Economics



<ul>
<li>U.S. crude inventories jumped by 6.926 million barrels to 456.2 million barrels in the week ended March 20, versus market estimates of a 0.5 million-barrel gain.</li>



<li>The U.S. current account deficit shrank to $190.7 billion in the fourth quarter from $239.1 billion in the prior period.</li>



<li>U.S. mortgage applications fell by 10.5% from the previous week in the week ending March 20, following a 10.9% decline in the previous week.</li>
</ul>



Photo via Shutterstock

CTAS

.DJU

U.S. stocks rose, with the Dow gaining over 300 points, led by Cintas Corp, which reported strong earnings and raised its FY2026 forecast. Cintas' Q3 EPS was $1.24, exceeding estimates, and sales reached $2.84 billion. Other notable gains included Sarepta Therapeutics and Braze Inc. However, energy stocks fell slightly, and crude oil prices dropped 1.7% to $90.74. Asian and European markets also saw positive movements, while U.S. mortgage applications declined by 10.5%.

Crude Oil Moves Lower; Cintas Raises FY2026 Forecast