Crude Oil Moves Lower; Walgreens Posts Upbeat Earnings

U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 100 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.33% to 37,554.56 while the NASDAQ fell 0.10% to 14,578.04. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.09% to 4,708.93.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Health care shares rose by 0.8% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares fell by 1%.

Top Headline

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but lowered its quarterly dividend.

Walgreens said quarterly sales increased 10% Y/Y to $36.7 billion, up 8.7% on a constant currency basis, beating the consensus of $34.86 billion. Adjusted EPS decreased 43.1% to $0.66, beating the consensus of $0.61, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Walgreens reduced its quarterly dividends by 48% to 25 cents per share, payable on March 12, 2024, to stockholders of record as of February 20, 2024.

Equities Trading UP

Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. DYN shares shot up 27% to $18.71. Dyne Therapeutics announced an underwritten public offering of $175 million of common stock.

Shares of Omega Therapeutics, Inc. OMGA got a boost, surging 106% to $5.63 after Novo Nordisk entered into a research collaboration with the company.

Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. ATXI shares were also up, gaining 49% to $0.2617 after the company announced it reached a final agreement with the FDA for the Phase 3 safety study for IV tramadol.

Equities Trading DOWN

SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. SLS shares dropped 36% to $0.5795 after the company announced pricing of $9.0 million public offering.

Shares of Mobileye Global Inc. MBLY were down 25% to $29.99 after the company issued preliminary FY23 financial results and initial 2024 guidance.

OPKO Health, Inc. OPK was down, falling 28% to $1.0750. OPKO Health disclosed a private offering of Convertible Senior Notes due 2029.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $72.16 while gold traded up 0.4% at $2,050.80.

Silver traded up 0.1% to $23.175 on Thursday while copper fell 0.8% to $3.8305.

Euro zone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.69%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.53% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.28% The German DAX rose 0.48% French CAC 40 rose 0.52% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.01%.

The HCOB Eurozone services PMI was revised higher to 48.8 in December versus a preliminary reading of 48.1. The HCOB France services PMI climbed to 45.7 in December, recording the highest reading in four months, while German services PMI rose to 49.3 in December versus a preliminary estimate of 48.4.

The S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI increased to 53.4 in December from 50.9 in the prior month. Consumer credit in the UK rose by £2.005 billion in November versus a revised £1.3411 billion in the previous month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.01% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.43%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.67%.

The Caixin China General Service PMI rose to 52.9 in December from 51.5 a month ago, while S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI climbed to 51.3 in December versus 50.1 in November. The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI rose to 47.9 in December versus a flash reading of 47.7.

Economics

U.S.-based employers announced plans to reduce 34,817 jobs in December.

Private businesses in the U.S. added 164,000 workers in December versus a revised 101,000 gain in November and topping market estimates of 115,000.

U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 202,000 in the final week of 2023, compared to market estimates of 216,000.

The S&P Global US Services PMI was revised higher to 51.4 in December versus a preliminary reading of 51.3.

The S&P Global composite PMI edged lower to 50.9 in December versus a flash reading of 51.0.

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined by 5.503 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 29, compared to market estimates of a 3.725 million barrel draw, the EIA said.

U.S. natural-gas supplies fell 14 billion cubic feet during the week ended Dec. 29, 2023, the EIA said.

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