Nasdaq Surges Over 1%; US Inflation Rises In-Line With Expectations

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 1% on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.02% to 44,257.30 while the NASDAQ rose 1.27% to 19,936.66. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.64% to 6,073.33.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares jumped by 2.4% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, health care shares fell by 1.1%.

Top Headline

The Consumer Price Index rose by 2.7% year-over-year in November 2024, exceeding October's 2.6% reading and matching analyst estimates of 2.7%, according to TradingEconomics. This marks the second consecutive increase in annual inflation — a trend not seen since April.

On a monthly basis, the CPI jumped 0.3%, accelerating from October’s 0.2% gain and matching expectations of a 0.3% rise, official data released Wednesday showed.

Equities Trading UP

Candel Therapeutics, Inc. CADL shares shot up 124% to $10.32 after the company announced results from its Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating CAN-2409 viral immunotherapy in localized prostate cancer patients.
Shares of AmpliTech Group, Inc. AMPG got a boost, surging 109% to $2.07 after the company announced the development and deployment of its proprietary low-noise cryogenic High Electron Mobility Transistor amplifiers.
SEALSQ Corp LAES shares were also up, gaining 98% to $1.1400.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. CLRB shares dropped 74% to $0.3356 after the company announced it is seeking strategic options for the Iopofosine I 131 late-stage clinical program. This will impact all departments and result in an immediate 60% headcount reduction.
Shares of Q32 Bio Inc QTTB were down 68% to $7.91 after the company announced that while its SIGNAL-AD Phase 2a clinical trial in atopic dermatitis showed promising findings in Part A, it did not meet the primary endpoint in Part B.
TFF Pharmaceuticals, Inc. TFFP was down, falling 42% to $0.1758.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $69.38 while gold traded up 1.3% at $2,753.20.

Silver traded up 1% to $33.075 on Tuesday, while copper fell 0.3% to $4.2615.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.23%, Germany's DAX rose 0.17% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.31%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 1.31%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.23%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.77%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.29% and India's BSE Sensex gaining 0.02%.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index rose by 2.7% year-over-year in November 2024, exceeding October's 2.6% reading and matching analyst estimates of 2.7%, according to TradingEconomics. This marks the second consecutive increase in annual inflation — a trend not seen since April.
On a monthly basis, the CPI jumped 0.3%, accelerating from October’s 0.2% gain and matching expectations of a 0.3% rise, official data released Wednesday showed.
U.S. crude inventories declined by 1.425 million barrels in the latest week, compared to market estimates of a 1.1 million-barrel decline.

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