Nasdaq Gains 100 Points Following PCE Data

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 100 points on Thursday.

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.07% to 38,923.11 while the NASDAQ rose 0.65% to 16,051.57. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.30% to 5,084.74.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares rose by 0.9% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, health care shares fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

The annual PCE inflation rate eased slightly from 2.6% in December 2023 to 2.4% in January 2024. Excluding energy and food, the core PCE index saw a year-on-year surge of 2.8%, down from the 2.9% rate seen December and in line with the expected decrease to 2.8%.

Equities Trading UP

Societal CDMO, Inc. SCTL shares shot up 132% to $1.0686. Privately held CoreRx Inc. will acquire Societal CDMO, a contract development and manufacturing organization.

Shares of Enveric Biosciences, Inc. ENVB got a boost, surging 130% to $1.91. Enveric Biosciences signed a non-binding term sheets to pursue the exclusive out-licensing of three classes of compounds.

Volcon, Inc. VLCN shares were also up, gaining 58% to $1.9101 after surging around 39% on Wednesday.

Equities Trading DOWN

LivePerson, Inc. LPSN shares dropped 40% to $1.4395 following fourth-quarter financial results.

Shares of The Chemours Company CC were down 40% to $17.20 after the company announced executive changes and said it is delaying its fourth quarter results and 10-K.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. IRWD was down, falling 39% to $9.19 after the company announced topline results from global Phase III trial of once-weekly apraglutide in adults with short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure (SBS-IF).

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $78.23 while gold traded up 0.6% at $2,055.70.

Silver traded rose 0.9% to $22.84 on Thursday while copper rose 0.4% to $3.8540.

Euro zone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.4% The German DAX gained 0.6% French CAC 40 fell 0.1% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.1%.

German jobless rate held came in unchanged at 5.9% in February, while German retail sales fell by 0.4% month-over-month in January. Spanish annual consumer price inflation rate declined to a six-month low level of 2.8% in February.

French economy expanded 0.1% on quarter in the fourth quarter. The annual inflation rate in France eased to 2.9% in February, while producer prices declined 1.3% month-over-month in January.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.15%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.94% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.27%.

Indian fiscal deficit shrank to INR 11.03 trillion in April-January compared to INR 11.91 trillion in the year-ago period. Japanese housing starts fell by 7.5% year-over-year in January following a 4.0% decline in the previous month. Retail sales in Japan gained 2.3% year-over-year in January.

Economics

The annual PCE inflation rate eased slightly from 2.6% in December 2023 to 2.4% in January 2024. Excluding energy and food, the core PCE index saw a year-on-year surge of 2.8%, down from the 2.9% rate seen December and in line with the expected decrease to 2.8%.

Personal spending rose by 0.2% from the previous month, while personal income rose by 1%.

U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 13,000 to 215,000 in the week ending Feb. 24.

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