Following the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, U.S. equities are mixed in trading today. While the Fed’s statement has provided more clarity on the pace of future rate hikes, market sentiment has been weighed down by worries over the outcome of next week’s referendum in the U.K.
The U.K. will vote on whether to stay in or leave the European Union (EU) next week. What market participants are worried about is the recent strengthening of the "Leave" campaign.
Indeed, recent polls suggest that the "Leave" campaign has the edge. If Britain does vote to leave the EU, it could lead to a sell-off in the British pound. Analysts say that the currency could drop as much as 10%. Fears of a Brexit, as U.K.’s potential exit from the EU is called, are also having a negative impact on global equities.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 were marginally higher in mid-day trading, while the NASDAQ was lower.
Although the overall sentiment is cautious, there are some stocks seeing significant gains. One such stock in today’s trading is Genius Brands International Inc. (OTCQB:GNUS). Based in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands is a global brand management company engaged in the creation and licensing of multimedia content. The company creates and distributes its content globally in all formats. It also licenses a broad range of consumer products based on its characters.
GNUS shares are gaining momentum after the company announced that Netflix will premier its new original preschool series Llama Llama to members worldwide in 2017. The series is based on award-winning and bestselling book series by author and illustrator Anna Dewdney.
It is led by an all-star team of creators, including Oscar®-winning director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), director Saul Blinkoff (Doc McStuffins, Barbie's Dreamtopia, Winnie the Pooh), Emmy winning writer Joe Purdy (Arthur), legendary Disney art director Ruben Aquino (Frozen, The Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan) and Emmy®-award winning producers Jane Startz and Andy Heyward.
The series is being produced in 20 different languages. GNUS is also rolling out a global licensing program, which it plans to unveil at the upcoming Licensing Expo starting next week in Las Vegas.
GNUS shares closed 5.63% higher at $2.25 on volume of 50,210, which is more than double the daily average volume of 22,141 as the stock continues an uptrend that began in early March.
