U.S. Stocks Surge Despite Decline in Retail Sales
U.S. stock market saw a surge in early trading on Thursday, despite the release of less-than-stellar economic reports. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all witnessed gains, with the Dow climbing by 0.26% to reach 38,525.18, the NASDAQ rising slightly by 0.01% to touch 15,860.35, and the S&P 500 showing a 0.19% increase to 5,010.23.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares flourished, marking a rise of 0.9% on Thursday. Conversely, communication services shares experienced a 0.4% decline in trading.
Top Headline
In January, U.S. retail sales plunged by 0.8% month-over-month, a significant contrast to the revised 0.4% increase in December. This downtrend defied market predictions of a 0.1% fall, sparking speculation and debate among investors.
Equities Trading UP
A few standout equity trades included a 365% surge in JX Luxventure Limited (JXJT) shares, escalating to $6.05 post the release of their H1 results. Similarly, Dunxin Financial Holdings Limited (DXF) witnessed a staggering 270% surge to $1.35, following a 5% increase on Wednesday.
Equities Trading DOWN
Earlyworks Co., Ltd (ELWS) took a hit, with shares dropping by 39% to $0.80. Additionally, Treasure Global Inc. (TGL) slid by 36% to $0.1011, following their second-quarter results. Furthermore, Renalytix Plc (RNLX) experienced a 28% fall to $0.8699, attributed to weak quarterly sales.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil observed a 1.2% decline and was priced at $76.95, while gold traded down by 0.1% and settled at $2,004.50. Conversely, silver surged by 1.2% to reach $22.425, but copper experienced a 0.3% decline, settling at $3.6985.
Euro zone
European shares recorded varying movements. The Eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.50%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.75%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.09%. The German DAX rose by 0.38%, and the French CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index marked increases of 0.68% and 0.63%, respectively.
In December, the Eurozone reported a trade surplus of €16.8 billion, a notable turnaround from the previous year’s deficit of €8.5 billion. Meanwhile, Italy recorded a trade surplus of EUR 5.61 billion in December, while Spain’s consumer price inflation escalated to a three-month high of 3.4% year-over-year in January.
Reflecting on 2023, the UK’s economy expanded by a mere 0.1%, marking the weakest performance since 2020. Labor productivity in the UK declined by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, but industrial production witnessed a 0.6% increase month-over-month in December. Furthermore, the UK’s trade deficit shrank to £2.603 billion in December, a welcomed change from the revised £3.723 billion from the previous month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed on a positive note, with notable gains seen in Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, China’s Shanghai Composite Index, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex.
In terms of economic data, India reported a trade deficit of $17.5 billion in January, versus a year-ago gap of $17.03 billion. Additionally, total passenger vehicle sales in India rose by 13.9% year-over-year, reaching 339,441 in January. However, Japan’s industrial production growth was adjusted to 1.4% month-over-month, contrasting with the initial reading of a 1.8% increase. Moreover, Japan’s economy faced a 0.4% contraction on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter.
Economics
The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index rose to -2.4 in February from -43.7 in the previous month, a notable improvement compared to market predictions of -15. Furthermore, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index surged by 16 points to reach a reading of 5.2 in February, significantly surpassing market expectations of -8. In addition, U.S. export prices and import prices experienced month-over-month increases of 0.8%. Initial jobless claims in the U.S. also declined, totaling 212,000 as of February 9, diverging from market projections of 220,000.
In light of economic activity, the decline in U.S. retail sales for January, a deviation from the previous month’s increase, has stirred speculation and reactions across the market.
