Crude Oil Surges Over 2%; MSC Industrial Shares Fall After Q2 Results

U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 15 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.06% to 39,785.29 while the NASDAQ fell 0.13% to 16,383.85. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.10% to 5,253.70.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 1.1% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, communication services shares fell by 0.2%.

Top Headline

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. MSM fell over 2% during Thursday’s session after the company reported mixed second-quarter results.

MSC Industrial Direct reported second-quarter FY24 net sales decline of 2.7% Y/Y to $935.3 million, missing the consensus of $946.5 million. Adjusted EPS of $1.18, down 18.6%, beating the consensus of $1.16.

MSC Industrial reiterated the outlook for FY24 ADS growth of 0%-5%, adjusted operating margin of 12% – 12.8%, and an operating cash flow conversion of more than 125%.

Equities Trading UP

Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. AVTX shares shot up 384% to $22.98 after the company announced it acquired a Phase 2-ready anti-IL-1β mAb, which it refers to as AVTX-009, through the acquisition of privately held AlmataBio. The company also announced a private placement financing of up to $185 million.

Shares of Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. XLO got a boost, surging 128% to $1.46 after the company announced an exclusive license agreement with Gilead Sciences for a tumor-activated IL-12 program. The company announced a $11.3 million private placement equity financing.

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc BDRX shares were also up, gaining 76% to $1.51. Biodexa's MTX110 showed promise in extending life expectancy against aggressive brain cancers.

Equities Trading DOWN

Primech Holdings Ltd. PMEC shares dropped 64% to $1.3999 after the company issued financial updates and corporate highlights for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2023.

Shares of urban-gro, Inc. UGRO were down 23% to $1.3898 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.

Data Storage Corporation DTST was down, falling 24% to $5.80 following fourth-quarter results.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.2% to $83.11 while gold traded up 1.3% at $2,241.80.

Silver traded up 0.9% to $24.975 on Thursday, while copper rose 0.3% to $4.0110.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.18%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.26% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.33% The German DAX rose 0.08% French CAC 40 rose 0.01% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.03%.

Bank lending to households in the Eurozone rose by 0.3% year-over-year to €6.87 trillion in February. The manufacturing confidence index in Italy climbed to 88.6 in March versus a revised reading of 87.5 in the prio month. German jobless rate came in steady at 5.9% in March, while German retail sales fell by 1.9% month-over-month for February.

The British economy shrank by 0.2% year-over-year during the fourth quarter, while current account gap in the UK widened to £21.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 versus a revised £18.5 billion gap in the prior period. UK car production climbed 14.6% year-over-year to 79,907 units in February.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.46%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 0.91%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.59% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 1.4%.

Singapore bank loans rose to SGD 801.5 billion in February from SGD 794.3 billion in the prior month. The Domestic Supply Price Index in Singapore fell 2.8% year-over-year for February.

Economics

The U.S. economy grew an annualized 3.4% in the fourth quarter, up from 3.2% previously reported.

U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 210,000 in the week ending March 23, compared to market estimates of 215,000.

The Chicago PMI declined to 41.4 in March from 44 in the previous month.

U.S. pending home sales climbed by 1.6% from the prior month in February versus a revised 4.7% decline in the prior month.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment rose to 79.4 in March versus a preliminary reading of 76.5.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs fell by 3 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

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