U.S. stocks displayed resilience on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index surging by around 300 points toward the end of trading.
The Dow soared by 0.77% to 39,814.95 while the NASDAQ edged up 0.25% to 16,410.54. The S&P 500 also made gains, rising by 0.38% to 5,244.72.
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Sector Performance Summary
Industrials shares saw a 1% jump on Thursday.
Meanwhile, materials shares experienced a modest 0.1% increase in trading.
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Accenture Plc (ACN) witnessed a sharp decline of about 9% on Thursday following the release of its fiscal second-quarter results.
The company reported second-quarter fiscal 2024 sales of $15.80 billion, slightly below the consensus of $15.84 billion. The revenues remained flat year-over-year in U.S. dollars and local currency, slightly surpassing the mid-range of the company’s guided revenue of $15.40 billion to $16.00 billion. On the earnings front, the adjusted EPS of $2.77 beat the consensus estimate of $2.66.
Looking ahead, Accenture anticipates fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS of $11.97 to $12.20 (revised from $11.97 to $12.32), in comparison to the consensus of $12.24. The company also projects revenue growth of 1% to 3% in local currency for fiscal 2024, adjusted from the prior 2% to 5%, against the $66.18 billion revenue consensus.
Winners and Losers in Equities Market
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. (YTEN) witnessed a remarkable 70% surge to $0.4124 after the USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services granted approval for the planting and breeding of Camelina sativa varieties in the U.S.
CuriosityStream Inc. (CURI) saw its shares climb by 56% to $0.91 following the release of its fourth-quarter financial results.
Lufax Holding Ltd (LU) also experienced an upsurge, with its shares rising by 40% to $4.7312 post its fourth-quarter results.
Market Selloff and Declining Stocks
Movella Holdings Inc. (MVLA) witnessed a significant 64% drop to $0.1039 following the announcement of its voluntary delisting from the Nasdaq.
Apyx Medical Corporation (APYX) saw its shares plummet by 26% to $1.36 due to weak FY24 guidance.
Spire Global, Inc. (SPIR) also faced a setback, with its shares falling by 34% to $11.54 following the announcement of a $30 million registered direct offering at $14.00 per share.
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Market Performance in Commodities and Overseas
In commodity trading, oil saw a 0.6% decline to trade at $80.82, while gold rose by 1% to reach $2,182.70.
Silver dipped by 0.5% to $24.99 on Thursday, while copper experienced a 0.2% rise to reach $4.0605.
Overview of European and Asia-Pacific Markets
European markets demonstrated strength, with the STOXX 600 in the Eurozone increasing by 0.90%. The FTSE 100 in London surged by 1.88%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose by 1.07%. Germany’s DAX also witnessed a 0.91% upswing, and France’s CAC 40 recorded a 0.22% increase. Italy’s FTSE MIB Index ended the day up by 0.10%.
The Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI fell to a three-month low of 45.7 in March, while the services PMI inched up to 51.1 from 50.2. The Eurozone recorded a current account surplus of €24.87 billion in January, contrasting with a deficit of €11.9 billion a year earlier. Passenger car registrations in the European Union showed a robust 10.1% year-over-year growth, totaling 883.6 thousand units in February.
Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific, most markets closed higher on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining by 2.03%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising by 1.93%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipping by 0.08%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex climbing by 0.75%.
Hong Kong’s inflation rate quickened to 2.1% in February from 1.7% in January. The current account surplus in Hong Kong grew to HKD 71.2 billion in the fourth quarter from HKD 55.9 billion in the same period last year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority opted to keep its base rate unchanged at 5.75%.
The HSBC Flash India composite PMI surged to 61.4 in March from the final reading of 60.6. The au Jibun Bank Japan composite PMI also showed improvement, reaching 52.3 in March compared to the final figure of 50.6 in February. Japan’s trade deficit narrowed to JPY 379,358 billion in February from JPY 928.908 billion in the same month a year ago.
Economic Indicators and Report Highlights
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index slipped to 3.2 in March from 5.2 in the previous month.
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. saw a 2,000 decrease, totaling 210,000 for the week ending March 16, below the market estimate of 215,000.
The U.S. current account deficit narrowed by $1.6 billion to $194.8 billion in the fourth quarter, surpassing market projections for a $209 billion deficit.
The S&P Global services PMI dipped to 51.7 in March from 52.3 in the prior month. On the other hand, the manufacturing PMI witnessed a surge to a 21-month high of 52.5 in March from 52.2 in the preceding month.
Existing-home sales in the U.S. experienced a robust 9.5% increase, reaching an annualized rate of 4.38 million units in February.
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