U.S. stocks surged higher towards the end of trading Thursday, with the Dow Jones index surging by over 250 points.
The Dow soared by 0.75% to 38,713.88, while the NASDAQ saw a 0.22% rise to 15,894.39. The S&P 500 also experienced an uptick, gaining 0.52% to 5,026.65.
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Gains and Losses in Sectors
Energy shares skyrocketed by 2% on Thursday. On the other hand, information technology shares plummeted by 0.6% during the same trading day.
Big Breakthrough: US Foods Holding Corp.
US Foods Holding Corp.’s shares saw a 3% surge on Thursday after the company reported exceptional fourth-quarter revenue results, surpassing market estimates. The company’s upward trajectory continued as they issued FY24 net sales guidance exceeding expectations.
The fourth-quarter revenue of US Foods surpassed the street view, reaching $8.936 billion, and marking a 4.9% year-over-year increase in net sales. Quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share experienced a 16.4% increase, reaching 64 cents, slightly missing the street view of 67 cents.
For FY24, the company expects net sales between $37.5 billion to $38.5 billion, with adjusted EPS ranging from $3.00 to $3.20.
Ups and Downs in Equities Trading
JX Luxventure Limited JXJT shares catapulted 152% to $3.28 following H1 results.
Shares of SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN rose by 64% to $3.6899 after NVIDIA, the AI darling, reported a stake in the company.
Nano-X Imaging Ltd. NNOX shares also experienced an increase, climbing 54% to $9.82, following NVIDIA’s reported 59,632 share stake in Nano X Imaging.
Herbalife Ltd. HLF witnessed a 32% drop to $8.02 following weak quarterly earnings.
Shares of Treasure Global Inc. TGL also slid down by 43% to $0.0896 after second-quarter results were posted.
Renalytix Plc RNLX experienced a 35% decline to $0.7871 after the company reported weak quarterly sales.
Commodity Market Landscape
In the commodity market, oil surged up by 1.9% to $78.10, while gold traded up by 0.5% at $2,014.00. Silver rose by 2.3% to $22.90, and copper experienced a 1.4% increase to $3.7530 on Thursday.
Insights into the Eurozone
European shares closed on a high note, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 gaining 0.68%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 rising by 0.38%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index saw a 0.11% rise, the German DAX rose by 0.60%, French CAC 40 ascended by 0.86%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index skyrocketed by 1.17%.
In specific economic news, the Eurozone recorded a trade surplus of €16.8 billion in December, a substantial rise from the year-ago deficit of €8.5 billion. Italy also reported a trade surplus of EUR 5.61 billion in the same period.
In the UK, the economy’s expansion was minimal, standing at 0.1% in 2023, marking the weakest performance since 2020. Additionally, labor productivity in the UK saw a decline of 1.0% in the fourth quarter, while industrial production experienced a 0.6% increase month over month in December. The UK’s trade deficit shrank to £2.603 billion in December, in comparison to a revised £3.723 billion a month ago.
Asia Pacific Markets Overview
Asian markets also finished on a high note on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 experiencing a 1.21% surge, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising by 0.41%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index witnessing a 1.28% increase, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.32%.
In detailed economic news, India reported a trade deficit of $17.5 billion in January, versus a year-ago gap of $17.03 billion, while the total passenger vehicle sales in the country rose by 13.9% year-over-year to 339,441 in January. Japan’s industrial production growth was revised lower to 1.4% month over month, compared to the initial reading of a 1.8% increase, while the country’s economy contracted by 0.4% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter.
Insights into the Economic Indicators
The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index surged to -2.4 in February from -43.7 in the previous month, surpassing market estimates.
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index saw a 16-point surge, reaching a reading of 5.2 in February, exceeding market expectations of -8.
In addition, export prices in the U.S. experienced a 0.8% increase month over month in January, while U.S. import prices also rose by 0.8%. Moreover, U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 8,000 from the previous week’s revised reading to 212,000 during the period ending Feb. 9, 2024, versus market expectations of 220,000.
However, U.S. retail sales fell by 0.8% month over month in January, compared to a revised 0.4% increase in December, and versus market estimates of a 0.1% fall. Industrial production in the U.S. also saw a 0.1% decline from the previous month in January, while total business inventories in the U.S. increased by 0.4% month over month in December.
On a positive note, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 48 in February, reaching the highest level in six months. In the same vein, U.S. natural-gas supplies fell by 49 billion cubic feet during the week ended Feb. 9, 2024.
