U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 100 points on Friday.
The Dow traded up 0.32% to 38,170.95 while the NASDAQ rose 0.10% to 15,525.24. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.19% to 4,903.28.
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Sector Performance
Health care shares rose by 0.5% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, information technology shares fell by 0.8%.
Top Headline
Shares of American Express Company AXP gained more than 7% on Friday after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results, issued FY24 guidance and said it plans to increase its dividend.
American Express fiscal fourth-quarter revenue 2023 (net of interest expense) grew 11% year-on-year to $15.8 billion, missing the consensus of $16.0 billion. EPS of $2.62 missed the consensus of $2.64.
Equities Trading UP
AppFolio, Inc. APPF shares shot up 28% to $222.67 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance.
Shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. CRBP got a boost, surging 221% to $27.11 after the company announced data from the first-in-human clinical study of CRB-701 is being presented as a poster by its development partner CSPC Pharmaceutical at ASCO GU 2024.
eHealth, Inc. EHTH shares were also up, gaining 24% to $6.93 after the company announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter.
Equities Trading DOWN
Yoshitsu Co., Ltd TKLF shares dropped 60% to $0.3133 after the company announced pricing of $4.0 million registered direct offering and private placement.
Shares of Intel Corporation INTC were down 10% to $44.44. Intel reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak forecast for the first quarter.
Processa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCSA was down, falling 25% to $3.8489 after the company announced pricing of its $7 million public offering.
Commodities Update
In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $76.60 while gold traded up 0.1% at $2,018.20.
Silver traded down 0.2% to $22.885 on Friday while copper fell 0.1% to $3.8650.
Euro zone Insights
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 1.08%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.45% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.23% The German DAX rose 0.26% French CAC 40 climbed 2.25% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.71%.
Bank lending to households in the Eurozone rose by 0.3% year-over-year to EUR 6.86 trillion in December. Spain’s unemployment rate fell to 11.76% in the fourth quarter from 11.84% in the prior quarter.
The consumer confidence indicator in France rose to 91 in January from 89 in the prior month, while the GfK Consumer Climate Indicator for Germany declined to -29.7 heading into February versus a revised reading of -25.4 in January.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.34%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declining 1.60% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.14%.
The index of leading economic indicators in Japan was revised lower to 107.6 in November versus the preliminary reading of 107.7, while index of coincident economic indicators rose to 114.6 in November from a flash reading of 114.5.
Economics Update
The headline PCE annual inflation rate held at 2.6% in December, matching both the previous and expected rate of 2.6%. On a monthly basis, the PCE price index rebounded with a 0.2% increase, recovering from a 0.1% decline in November and matching the predicted 0.2% rise.
U.S. personal spending rose by 0.7% from a month ago in December, while personal income rose by 0.3%.
U.S. pending home sales surged 8.3% month-over-month in December, beating market estimates of a 1.5% increase, and compared to a revised 0.3% decline in November.
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