Nasdaq Turns Lower; US Retail Sales Top Estimates

U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite turning lower on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.04% to 37,105.00 while the NASDAQ fell 0.44% to 14,669.25. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.10% to 4,702.57.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Real estate shares rose by 3% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.5%.

Top Headline

Retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.3% month-over-month in November following a revised 0.2% decline in October. Analysts, however, were expecting a 0.1% decline in sales.

Equities Trading UP

Freight Technologies, Inc. FRGT shares shot up 218% to $0.8599 after the company announced Amazon Mexico renewed its selection of Fr8App for its logistical solutions.

Shares of Moderna, Inc. MRNA got a boost, surging 11% to $87.15 after the company, and Merck, announced follow-up data from the Phase 2b randomized KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 study in patients with resected high-risk melanoma following complete resection.

VCI Global Limited VCIG shares were also up, gaining 23% to $2.80 after its financial technology arm, Accuventures Sdn Bhd, agreed to acquire the Malaysian digital platform EVOLET.

Equities Trading DOWN

Amtech Systems, Inc. ASYS shares dropped 29% to $4.2250 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results and issued first-quarter sales guidance below estimates.

Shares of Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. RPHM were down 81% to $1.46 after the company released data from its pivotal STRIDE Phase 2b study of mavodelpar in adult patients with primary mitochondrial myopathies (PMM), a group of mitochondrial diseases that cause prominent muscular problems. The study did not meet its primary efficacy or secondary efficacy endpoint.

Cepton, Inc. CPTN was down, falling 28% to $2.85 after the company posted downbeat third-quarter sales and issued weak FY23 revenue forecast. Craig-Hallum downgraded Cepton from Buy to Hold.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 4% to $72.27 while gold traded up 2.5% at $2,046.50.

Silver traded up 6.9% to $24.495 on Thursday while copper rose 2.8% to $3.8940.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.87%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.33% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.75% The German DAX fell 0.08% French CAC 40 jumped 0.59%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.21%.

The ECB kept interest rates unchanged for the second straight meeting, while the Bank of England held its benchmark interest rate at 5.25% for the third straight time.

Spain's consumer price inflation fell to 3.2% year-over-year in November from 3.5% in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.73%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 1.07% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.33%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 1.3%.

Manufacturing production in Hong Kong rose 4.4% year-over-year in the third quarter compared to a revised 2.7% rise in the prior period. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) held its base rate at 5.75% at its recent meeting.

Indian wholesale prices rose by 0.26 percent year-over-year in November. Japan’s industrial production growth was revised higher to 1.3% month-over-month in October versus a flash reading of 1.0%.

Economics

U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 202,000 in the week ending Dec. 9, well below market estimates of 220,000.

Export prices in the U.S. declined 0.9% month-over-month in November, while import prices declined by 0.4% in November.

Retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.3% month-over-month in November following a revised 0.2% decline in October.

Total business inventories in the U.S. declined by 0.1% month-over-month in October following a revised 0.2% increase in the previous month.

U.S. natural-gas supplies fell 55 billion cubic feet last week, the EIA said.

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