U.S. stocks were off to the races this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite making an impressive gain of over 100 points on Thursday.
After the market opening Thursday, the Dow was up 0.14% to 38,204.88, while the NASDAQ jumped 0.77% to 15,281.03. The S&P 500 also saw an increase, gaining 0.49% to 4,869.54.
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The Markets: Leading and Lagging Sectors
Communication services shares surged by 1.5% on Thursday. However, in trading on Thursday, utilities shares took a hit, falling by 0.6%.
Top Headline
U.S. initial jobless claims increased to 224,000 in the week ended January 27, versus a revised 215,000 in the prior week and compared to market estimates of 212,000.
Equities Trading UP
- Minim, Inc. MINM shares shot up 83% to $7.50. David E. Lazar recently disclosed a 51% active stake in Minim.
- Shares of NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NRBO got a boost, surging 40% to $4.58. NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals announced FDA clearance of IND for Phase 1 clinical trial of DA-1726 for the treatment of obesity.
- FibroBiologics, Inc. FBLG shares were also up, gaining 20% to $35.00. FibroBiologics announced a direct listing on the NASDAQ.
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Equities Trading DOWN
- Revelation Biosciences, Inc. REVB shares dropped 61% to $3.40 after the company announced the pricing of a $6.2 million public offering.
- Shares of InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. NVIV were down 57% to $0.2722. InVivo Therapeutics Holdings and its subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware but plan to continue operating under court supervision as a debtor-in-possession.
- CareMax, Inc. CMAX was down, falling 26% to $7.67.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1% to $76.57, while gold traded down 0.5% at $2,057.30. Silver traded down 1.9% to $22.735 on Thursday, while copper fell 0.8% to $3.8745.
Euro Zone
European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.2%. The German DAX fell 0.1%, French CAC 40 fell 0.5%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.1%.
The inflation rate in the Eurozone fell to 2.8% year-over-year in January from 2.9% in the prior month. The HCOB Eurozone manufacturing PMI climbed to 46.6 in January, recording the highest level in ten months. The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI fell to 47 in January versus the preliminary reading of 47.3, while German manufacturing PMI rose to 45.5 in January from 43.3 in December. The HCOB France manufacturing PMI climbed to 43.1 in January from 42.1 in the prior month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.76%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 0.52%, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.64%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 0.14%.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority maintained its base rate at 5.75%. Retail sales in Hong Kong rose 4.8% year-over-year in December compared to a revised 12.4% surge in the earlier month. The au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI edged higher to 48.0 in January from 47.9 in December. The HSBC India manufacturing PMI fell to 56.5 in January versus a flash reading of 56.9. The Caixin China general manufacturing PMI came in unchanged at 50.8 in January.
Economics
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity rose by 3.2% in the fourth quarter compared to a revised 4.9% increase in the third quarter. Unit labor costs rose an annualized 0.5% in the fourth quarter versus a revised 1.1% decline in the prior period. U.S. initial jobless claims increased to 224,000 in the week ended January 27, versus a revised 215,000 in the prior week and compared to market estimates of 212,000.
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