Dow Gains 100 Points; US Inflation Rate Rises To 3.2% In February

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

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.27% to 38,873.55 while the NASDAQ rose 0.69% to 16,129.18. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.52% to 5,144.57.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares jumped by 0.7% on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 0.3%.

Top Headline

The U.S. consumer price index exceeded expectations in February.

In February 2024, the inflation rate climbed to 3.2% compared to the previous year, surpassing both the previous and expected rate of 3.1%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI increased by 0.4%, in line with January’s figure and exceeding the predicted 0.3% rise.

Equities Trading UP

ClearOne, Inc. CLRO shares shot up 130% to $2.089 after the company announced a special-one time cash dividend.

Shares of Regulus Therapeutics Inc. RGLS got a boost, surging 81% to $2.50 after the company announced topline results from the second cohort of patients in its Phase 1b MAD study of RGLS8429 for the treatment of ADPKD. The company announced an oversubscribed $100 million private placement of equity.

Ranpak Holdings Corp. PACK shares were also up, gaining 46% to $6.38 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue results and issued FY24 guidance. Also, Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and raised its price target from $5 to $7.

Equities Trading DOWN

BYND Cannasoft Enterprises Inc. BCAN shares dropped 72% to $0.0285 after the company announced pricing of $7.0 million underwritten public offering.

Shares of Blade Air Mobility, Inc.. BLDE were down 29% to $2.8150 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue results and issued FY24 revenue guidance below estimates.

NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NRXP was down, falling 23% to $0.5150. NRx Pharmaceuticals initiated a strategy to combat short sellers in the company's stock.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.1% to $77.99 while gold traded down 1.1% at $2,165.70.

Silver traded down 1.4% to $24.375 on Tuesday while copper fell 0.4% to $3.9135.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.3% The German DAX rose 0.3% French CAC 40 rose 0.1% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.5%.

German consumer price inflation came in at 2.5% year-over-year in February. The UK’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, while regular pay, excluding bonus payment, increased 6.1% year-over-year to GBP 627/week in the three months to January.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.06%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 3.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.41% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.23%.

Total passenger vehicle sales in India climbed 9.5% year-over-year to 319,519 in February. Producer prices in Japan increased by 0.6% year-over-year in February, while business survey index of large manufacturing firms dipped to -6.7% in the first quarter compared to 5.7% in the prior quarter.

Economics

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 89.4 in February from 89.9 in January.

In February 2024, the inflation rate climbed to 3.2% compared to the previous year, surpassing both the previous and expected rate of 3.1%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI increased by 0.4%, in line with January’s figure and exceeding the predicted 0.3% rise.

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