Benzingaยท2025-09-18 16:27Market Overview - U.S. stocks experienced an upward trend, with the Dow Jones index increasing by over 150 points, closing up 0.37% at 46,190.85, NASDAQ rising 1.07% to 22,500.28, and S&P 500 gaining 0.62% to 6,641.29 [1] - In the commodities market, oil prices rose by 0.7% to $64.50, while gold decreased by 1.2% to $3,674.30 [5] Company Performance - Darden Restaurants, Inc. reported first-quarter earnings of $1.97 per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.00 per share, and quarterly sales of $3.004 billion, which also fell short of the $3.040 billion estimate [2] - 89bio, Inc. shares surged 86% to $15.02 following an acquisition agreement with Roche [8] - Intel Corporation's shares increased by 27% to $31.59 after announcing a partnership with NVIDIA for AI infrastructure development, with NVIDIA investing $5 billion in Intel's stock at $23.28 per share [8] - Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. saw its shares rise by 62% to $2.2863 due to breakthrough clinical results for its drug in AML treatment [8] - Replimune Group, Inc. shares fell by 39% to $3.4900 as the company assesses FDA feedback on its product [8] - BioCardia, Inc. shares dropped 29% to $1.0850 after announcing a public offering and trial results [8] - Lifeway Foods, Inc. shares decreased by 21% to $26.72 following Danone's withdrawal of its acquisition proposal [8] Economic Indicators - U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 33,000 to 231,000, better than the market estimate of 240,000 [10] - The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index rose to +23.2 in September, the highest since January, compared to -0.3 in August [10] European and Asian Markets - European shares showed positive movement, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 rising by 0.79% and major indices in Spain, London, Germany, and France also gaining [6] - Asian markets closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei gaining 1.15% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell by 1.35% [7]