At the day’s close, the U.S. stock market revealed a mixed tape, as the Nasdaq Composite dipped by about 0.2% on Friday.
The Dow Jones rose by 0.23% to 39,158.52 while the NASDAQ saw a decline of 0.19% to 16,011.27. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 managed to climb, marking an uptick of 0.11% to 5,092.83.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Friday, utility shares experienced an upswing of 0.8%.
Conversely, energy shares saw a downward trend, falling by 0.5%.
A Leap of Triumph
AXT, Inc. AXTI experienced a meteoric rise of 79%, reaching $4.0811 after delivering an impressive performance in its fourth-quarter financial results.
Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, Inc. MRVI also witnessed a surge of 60%, hitting $8.16 post a strong showing in its fourth-quarter financial results.
Similarly, Carvana Co. CVNA saw an increase of 31%, reaching $68.60 after unveiling its fourth-quarter financial results.
A Dismal Note
Sequans Communications S.A. SQNS plunged by a disheartening 67% to $0.85 after Renesas announced the termination of the planned acquisition of Sequans.
In a somber turn of events, Smith Micro Software, Inc. SMSI recorded a 42% decrease, landing at $0.4750 following underwhelming quarterly sales.
Moreover, ModivCare Inc. MODV experienced a decline, falling by 40% to $26.43 after issuing a weak sales forecast for the first quarter.
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Commodity Chronicles
In the commodities realm, oil witnessed a 2.5% dip to $76.66, whereas gold saw a 1% increase, rising to $2,050.40.
Silver marked a 1% rise to $23.01 on Friday, while copper faced a slight downturn of 0.6% to $3.8735.
Euro Zone Chronicles
In the European arena, shares ended on a high note with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbing by 0.43%. London’s FTSE 100 rose by 0.28%, but Spain’s IBEX 35 Index witnessed a decline of 0.08%. The German DAX saw an uptick of 0.28%, French CAC 40 rose by 0.70%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index stood strong with a rise of 1.07%.
In a sidestep, the German economy slumped by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2023, yet the Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany ticked up to 85.5 in February from 85.2 in January. Median consumer expectations indicated a surge in Eurozone inflation to 3.3% in January compared to 3.2% in the month prior. The GfK Consumer Confidence indicator for the UK dipped to -21 in February from -19 in January.
Asia Pacific Market Musings
In the Asian markets on Friday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index faced a minor stumble of 0.10%, the Shanghai Composite Index in China showed resilience with a gain of 0.55%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex inched up by 0.1%.
Chinese new home prices showcased a 0.7% year-over-year decrease for January compared to a 0.4% fall in the prior month.
Economic Insights
The count of active U.S. oil rigs surged by 6 units this week, as per Baker Hughes Inc.’s report.
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