The S&P 500 rose 0.25% to 1,993.38 in midday trading Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.27% to 17,060.18, and the Nasdaq rose 0.6% to 4,579.62.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond rose 1.16% to 2.53%.
The price of gold was up 0.12% to $1,253.60.
HEALTHCARE
Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. was up 11.3% to $6.60 and a market cap of $1.1 billion on higher volume after presenting at a Morgan Stanley conference yesterday and speculation on drugs in three phase two studies. The Aliso Viejo drug maker’s volume of 6.4 million at midday tripled its average daily volume for the past 90 days, and the company plans to announce results this month or in early October for a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The same drug is also currently in a study for treatments of aspects of Parkinson’s disease. And last month the company began phase two studies on a drug to treat depression under an “expedited development path” with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
SERVICES
Anaheim-based engineering and consulting company Willdan Group Inc. was down 2.7% to $11.51 and a market cap of $86.5 million. After a run-up in price from $9.46 to $12.24 between late August and early this month, the stock dropped 3% yesterday, followed by the decline at midday today. A company in its category, the Woodlands, Texas-based Layne Christensen Co., fell 6% yesterday, though it is back up slightly today.
