U.S. stocks took a positive turn this morning, reflecting the release of producer price index (PPI) data on Friday.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares rose by 1.4% on Friday, presenting a feather in the market’s cap.
Meanwhile, in trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares experienced a marginal upward movement of merely 0.01%.
Top Headline
Amid the market jubilation, producer prices in the U.S. descended by 0.1% month-over-month in December, matching the previous month’s decline and defying market expectations of a 0.1% uptick.
Equities Trading UP
Some equities experienced a meteoric rise, with Charge Enterprises, Inc. witnessing an impressive 81% surge to $0.1469, following a 9% decline on Thursday.
Spectral AI, Inc. also joined the upward ascent, with shares surging 28% to $3.2600 after the company commenced enrollment in a pivotal study to validate DeepView AI for burn injuries.
Volcon, Inc. was not to be left behind, registering a 39% climb to $0.1375, following an 11% gain on Thursday.
Equities Trading DOWN
Genius Group Limited experienced a significant setback, with shares plummeting 49% to $0.2624 after the company announced pricing of an $8.25 million public offering.
SEALSQ Corp also saw a downturn, with shares falling 32% to $2.1450 after a 62% surge on Thursday. SEALSQ announced closing of the second $10.0 million tranche of convertible notes and warrants private placement.
Commodities
In the commodities sphere, oil enjoyed an impressive 2.8% surge to $74.09, while gold experienced a 1.9% increase, reaching $2,058.00.
Silver also made gains, trading up by 3% to $23.39 on Friday, with copper following suit, rising by 0.2% to $3.7850.
Euro zone
Across the pond, European shares staged a solid rally, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 registering a 0.6% upsurge. London’s FTSE 100 also rose by 0.7%, complemented by Spain’s IBEX 35 Index and the German DAX, both rising by 0.7%. The French CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index also experienced a commendable 0.7% upward movement.
Moreover, economic indicators painted a positive picture with Spain’s consumer price inflation easing to 3.1% year-over-year in December, indicating a modest decline from 3.2% in the prior month. Household spending in France also increased by 0.7% from a month ago in November.
The British economy contributed positively, with a 0.3% month-over-month growth in November compared to a 0.3% decline in the preceding month. Industrial production in the UK also rebounded, showing a 0.3% month-over-month upturn in November, as opposed to a revised 1.3% decline in October. The UK’s trade deficit also shrank to £1.408 billion in November from a revised gap of £3.198 billion a month ago.
Asia Pacific Markets
In the Asian markets, a mixed picture emerged on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 1.50%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped by 0.35% and 0.16%, respectively. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, on the other hand, surged by 1.16%.
Some bright spots in Japan’s economic landscape included the gauge for Japan’s service sector confidence, which rose by 1.2 points to a reading of 50.7 in December, and Japan’s current account, which swelled to JPY 1,925.6 billion in November compared to JPY 1,772.2 billion in the year-ago period.
In China, despite the market setbacks, the trade surplus widened to $75.34 billion in December from $70.65 billion in the year-ago month. However, producer prices in China fell by 2.7% year-over-year in December, while consumer prices also experienced a decline, falling by 0.3% year-over-year in December.
Economics
Reiterating the earlier revelation, producer prices in the U.S. underwent a 0.1% month-over-month decrease in December, echoing the prior month’s pattern and confounding market expectations of a 0.1% rise.
