U.S. stocks found themselves in murky waters midway through Tuesday’s trading session, with the Nasdaq Composite taking a nosedive of over 1%.
The Dow was trailing down by 1.05%, hovering at 39,152.47, while the NASDAQ sunk by 1.17% to 16,205.37. The S&P 500 also experienced a downturn, shedding 0.89% to settle at 5,196.96.
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Diving into the Market: Winners and Losers
Energy stocks caught a wave, riding high with a 0.6% surge on Tuesday.
On the flip side, health care shares stumbled, falling by 1.7% in trading.
The Talk of the Town
U.S. factory orders made a commendable comeback in February, climbing 1.4% from the prior month to a total of $576.8 billion, following a revision that saw January’s numbers take a tumble by 3.8%.
Stocks on the Rise
VivoPower International PLC VVPR made waves in the market, with its shares skyrocketing by an impressive 266% to hit $5.35 after the company’s Tembo subsidiary announced a merger with the Nasdaq-listed Cactus Acquisition Corp. 1 Limited.
Shares of VirTra, Inc. VTSI surged by 41% to $13.43 following a stellar fourth-quarter performance.
MSP Recovery, Inc. LIFW also saw a boost, with its shares climbing by 28% to close at $0.8520 after a 13G filing revealed a stake of 6.5% held by Palantir Technologies as of March 22, 2024.
Stocks on the Decline
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR experienced a substantial dip of 76%, closing at $3.1801 after initiating voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Shares of Gritstone bio, Inc. GRTS were down by 48% to $1.2150 following an announcement about a $32.5 million underwritten public offering.
Verve Therapeutics, Inc. VERV took a tumble, dropping by 37% to $8.04 after hitting a roadblock with the pausing of enrollment in its Heart-1 Phase 1b clinical trial due to adverse events.
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Market Movers: Commodity Edition
In the world of commodities, oil made a splash with a 1.6% surge to $85.08, while gold sparkled with a 0.8% increase at $2,274.30.
Silver shone brightly, trading up by 3.1% to $25.855 on Tuesday, while copper added a touch of shine, rising by 0.5% to $4.0695.
Exploring the Eurozone
Across the Atlantic, European shares painted a gloomy picture. The STOXX 600 in the eurozone fell by 0.75%, London’s FTSE 100 dropped by 0.14%, Spain’s IBEX 35 Index was down by 0.96%, the German DAX dipped by 1.04%, the French CAC 40 saw a decline of 0.91%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell by 1.15%.
The HCOB manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone ticked up to 46.1 in March from a preliminary reading of 45.7. Median consumer expectations for Eurozone inflation over the next 12 months eased to 3.1% in February. The HCOB Germany manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 41.9 in March from the initial level of 41.6, while French manufacturing PMI dipped to 46.2 in March from 47.1 in the previous month.
The S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI climbed to 50.3 in March from an initial reading of 49.9, while consumer credit in the UK saw an uptick of £1.378 billion in February. The Nationwide House Price Index in the UK also saw growth, increasing by 1.6% year-over-year in March following a 1.2% gain in February.
Across Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets displayed a mixed bag on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 edging up by 0.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 2.36%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index taking a slight fall of 0.08%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex slipping by 0.2%.
The HSBC Indian manufacturing PMI was revised downwards to 59.1 in March as opposed to the preliminary reading of 59.2.
Delving into Economic Indicators
U.S. factory orders showed resilience, surging by 1.4% from the prior month to $576.8 billion in February amidst a revised 3.8% decline in January.
Job openings also saw a glimmer of hope, rising by 8,000 from the previous month to hit 8.756 million in February, beating market estimates of 8.75 million.
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