U.S. stocks round out the day with the Dow Jones experiencing strong gains of over 100 points on Thursday, in a mixed trading session.
The Dow traded up 0.33% to 37,554.56 while the NASDAQ fell 0.10% to 14,578.04. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining 0.09% to 4,708.93.
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Sector Performance
Health care shares climbed by 0.8%, while energy shares dipped by 1% during Thursday trading.
Walgreens Beats Earnings Expectations
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA posted optimistic first-quarter earnings, despite announcing a reduction in its quarterly dividend.
Walgreens reported a 10% year-over-year increase in quarterly sales to $36.7 billion, or 8.7% on a constant currency basis, surpassing the consensus of $34.86 billion. Adjusted EPS was at $0.66, down by 43.1% but beating the consensus of $0.61, as reported by Benzinga Pro. The company slashed its quarterly dividends by 48% to 25 cents per share, payable on March 12, 2024, to stockholders of record as of February 20, 2024.
Stocks On The Rise
Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. DYN shares soared 27% to $18.71. The company announced an underwritten public offering of $175 million of common stock.
Shares of Omega Therapeutics, Inc. OMGA skyrocketed 106% to $5.63 after entering into a collaboration with Novo Nordisk. Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. ATXI also saw an increase, rising 49% to $0.2617 after reaching a final agreement with the FDA for the Phase 3 safety study for IV tramadol.
Stocks On The Decline
SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. SLS shares plummeted 36% to $0.5795 after announcing a $9.0 million public offering. Shares of Mobileye Global Inc. MBLY dropped 25% to $29.99 following the release of preliminary FY23 financial results and initial 2024 guidance. OPKO Health, Inc. OPK fell by 28% to $1.0750 after disclosing a private offering of Convertible Senior Notes due 2029.
Commodity Movement
Oil experienced a 0.7% decline to $72.16, while gold rose by 0.4% to $2,050.80. Silver went up by 0.1% to $23.175, and copper fell by 0.8% to $3.8305 on Thursday.
Euro Zone Market Update
European shares closed higher for the day: the eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.69%, London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.53%, Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.28%, German DAX gained 0.48%, French CAC 40 rose 0.52%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index grew by 1.01%.
HCOB Eurozone services PMI was revised higher to 48.8 in December versus a preliminary reading of 48.1. HCOB France services PMI climbed to 45.7 in December, recording the highest reading in four months, while German services PMI rose to 49.3 in December versus a preliminary estimate of 48.4.
S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI increased to 53.4 in December from 50.9 in the prior month. Consumer credit in the UK rose by £2.005 billion in November versus a revised £1.3411 billion in the previous month.
Asia Pacific Market Review
Asian markets closed mostly lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down by 0.01%, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index decreasing by 0.43%. However, India’s S&P BSE Sensex had a 0.67% increase.
The Caixin China General Service PMI rose to 52.9 in December from 51.5 a month ago, while S&P Global Hong Kong SAR PMI climbed to 51.3 in December versus 50.1 in November. The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI rose to 47.9 in December versus a flash reading of 47.7.
Economic Landscape
U.S.-based employers announced plans to reduce 34,817 jobs in December.
Private businesses in the U.S. added 164,000 workers in December versus a revised 101,000 gain in November, surpassing market estimates of 115,000.
U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 202,000 in the final week of 2023, compared to market estimates of 216,000.
The S&P Global US Services PMI was revised higher to 51.4 in December versus a preliminary reading of 51.3. The S&P Global composite PMI edged lower to 50.9 in December versus a flash reading of 51.0.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. declined by 5.503 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 29, compared to market estimates of a 3.725 million barrel draw, the EIA said. U.S. natural-gas supplies fell 14 billion cubic feet during the week ended Dec. 29, 2023, as per the EIA.
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