Crude Oil Moves Higher; Dollar General Posts Upbeat Earnings

U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 100 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded down 0.30% to 38,926.22 while the NASDAQ fell 0.44% to 16,107.04. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.39% to 5,145.38.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 0.4% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, real estate shares fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

Dollar General Corp DG posted better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.

The company reported a four-quarter FY23 sales decline of 3.4% year-on-year to $9.858 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $9.783 billion. EPS of $1.83 beat the consensus estimate of $1.75.

Equities Trading UP

Turtle Beach Corporation HEAR shares shot up 27% to $13.99 after the company announced the acquisition of PDP and its intention to launch a modified "Dutch Auction" Tender Offer. The company also reported fourth-quarter financial results.

Shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. EGY got a boost, surging 24% to $5.51 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. BBW shares were also up, gaining 17% to $29.15 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter EPS but missed on revenue. Additionally, the company guided FY24 revenue growth on a low-to-mid-single-digit percentage basis.

Equities Trading DOWN

Spruce Biosciences, Inc. SPRB shares dropped 79% to $1.09 after the company reported FY23 financial results. Also, the company announced that the CAHmedlia-203 study of Tildacerfont in adult classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia with severe hyperandrogenemia did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint.

Shares of Fisker Inc. FSR were down 48% to $0.1668 following a Wall Street Journal report suggesting the company is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing.

Better Therapeutics, Inc. BTTX was down, falling 80% to $0.0407. Better Therapeutics announced it will seek strategic alternatives and will be delisted from the Nasdaq.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.9% to $81.20 while gold traded down 0.7% at $2,165.50.

Silver traded down 0.1% to $25.14 on Thursday, while copper fell 0.3% to $4.0495.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.07%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.30% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.47% The German DAX slipped 0.02% French CAC 40 rose 0.51% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.03%.

Spain’s annual inflation rate eased to 2.8% in February, the lowest in six months, compared to 3.4% in January.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.29%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.71%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.18% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.5%.

Manufacturing production in Hong Kong rose 4.1% year-over-year in the fourth quarter compared to a revised 4.3% gain in the prior period. Indian wholesale prices rose by 0.20% year-over-year in February versus a 0.27% increase in the earlier month.

Economics

The Producer Price Index for final demand in the U.S. increased by 0.6% month-over-month in February, higher than market expectations of a 0.3% rise.

U.S. retail sales increased 0.6% month-over-month in February compared to a revised 1.1% decline in January and down from market estimates of a 0.8% surge.

U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 1,000 to 209,000 in the week ended March 8, compared to market estimates of 218,000.

U.S. total business inventories came in flat month-over-month in January compared to a 0.3% increase in the previous month.

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