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Incyte Corp. shares soared 10.1% in extremely heavy Wednesday trade after news that it and Eli Lilly & Co. plan to reapply for approval of rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib by the end of January 2018, with a decision expected mid-year. Eli Lilly shares rose 2.5% in heavy Wednesday trade. The Food and Drug Administration previously failed to approve the drug, asking for more clinical data on dosage and to clarify safety concerns. The two companies said they had discussed the matter with the FDA in late August and that the resubmission package would include new safety and efficacy data. Baricitinib is intended for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, can be taken once a day and is expected to generate more than $2 billion in sales a year. Incyte shares have surged 5.7% over the last three months and Eli Lilly shares have surged 2.8%, compared with a 1.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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U.S. oil prices finished Wednesday with a loss, at their lowest level in more than four weeks. The Energy Information Administration reported a bigger-than-expected weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies, but gasoline stockpiles were flat and traders expect next week’s government report to reveal the impact of Hurricane Harvey-related crude production and refinery shutdowns. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 48 cents, or 1%, to settle at $45.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S stock benchmarks were riding higher on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 index on pace to register four straight closes in positive territory. That would mark the S&P 500 index’s longest win streak since the 7-session period ended May 26, according to FactSet data. The S&P 500 is up nearly 14 points in most recent trade, or 0.6%, at 2,459. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.2% at 21,912, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was trading 1.1% higher and on track for three straight wins of its own. Wall Street has been resilient of late, shaking of geopolitical and meteorological headwinds, including North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile over Japan’s airspace, rising tensions between the U.S. and its Asian allies; and Hurricane Harvey, which has devastated Texas’s Gulf Coast region. Upbeat data on Wednesday helped to support Wednesday’s gains. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the U.S., rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate of 3.0% in the second quarter, the strongest quarter of growth since the first quarter of 2015 and above the 2.6% growth estimated in July. And private-sector job growth reported by ADP Inc. came in at a better-than-expected 237,000 job created in August.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained some upward thrust Wednesday afternoon, with blue chips scoring a boost from Goldman Sachs. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the world’s most prominent investment bank, were up about $4.04, or 1.8%, contributing nearly 30 points to the price-weighted gauge. Each $1 move in the benchmark translates to a 6.84-point swing. Broadly speaking, financials, including Goldman, were benefiting from better-than-expected economic reports, including private-sector job growth at 237,000 in August, well above estimates for 185,000 and an update on U.S. economic growth showing U.S. GDP grew at a 3% pace in the second quarter. Those upbeat reports may support another rate hike for the Federal Reserve before the end of the year, market participants are betting. Higher rates tends to be a boon to a bank’s lending models. Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. were tilting higher, up 0.8%, while a broad gauge of the financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF were the best performer among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors early Wednesday. More broadly, the S&P 500 index was up 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was trading 1% higher on the day.

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Vera Bradley Inc. shares reversed early gains Wednesday to trade sharply lower, after the company announced some executive changes on its earnings call. The company said Beatrice Mac Cabe has been named its chief creative officer, while founder Barbara Bradley Baekgaard will take a smaller role to give her time to pursue other projects outside the company. Theresa Palermo, executive vice president for marketing, is leaving and will be replaced by Stephanie Scheele as interim chief marketing officer. Shares fell about 9%, after earlier gaining about 8% premarket when the company posted better-than-expected earnings. On the call, executives gave further detail on its Vision 2020 plan, which will move it to a less clearance driven business model and cut sales and marketing costs. Shares have fallen 22% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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From:: Stock Market News