U.S. stocks showed a positive trend toward the end of trading, as the Dow Jones index gained about 50 points on Friday.
The Dow traded up 0.13% to 37,490.36 while the NASDAQ rose 0.25% to 14,546.77. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining 0.26% to 4,701.05.
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Insights into Sector Performance
The communication services sector saw a rise of 0.3% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.8%.
Consumer goods and services in Contraction:
Top Headline
Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE: STZ) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, but sales missed estimates.
Constellation Brands reported third-quarter FY24 net sales growth of 1.4% year-on-year to $2.47 billion, missing the analyst consensus of $2.54 billion. Comparable EPS of $3.19 exceeded the consensus estimate of $3.00.
However, Constellation cut its FY24 reported EPS outlook from $9.60 – $9.80 to $9.15 – $9.35. The company raised its FY24 operating cash flow forecast from $2.4 billion – $2.6 billion to $2.6 billion – $2.8 billion and free cash flow outlook from $1.2 billion – $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion – $1.5 billion.
Equities on the Rise
AxoGen, Inc. AXGN shares soared 24% to $8.40 as the company reported preliminary unaudited revenue for the fourth quarter and full-year 2023. The company also announced its President and Chief Executive Officer, Karen Zaderej, plans to retire from the company by Jan. 2025.
Shares of Banzai International, Inc. BNZI surged 66% to $2.76. Banzai International signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire IGLeads, a cutting-edge automated lead generation platform.
Revelstone Capital Acquisition Corp. RCAC shares also rose, gaining 90% to $10.73. Revelstone Capital Acquisition cancelled a special meeting to approve a business combination with Set Jet, Inc.
Reflections on Market Upswing:
Equities under Pressure
Applied Therapeutics, Inc. APLT shares plunged 38% to $2.3525 after the company released the topline results of the ARISE-HF Phase 3 trial of AT-001 (caficrestat) in patients with Diabetic Cardiomyopathy (DbCM) at high risk of progression to overt heart failure.
Shares of agilon health, inc. AGL were down 32% to $8.18 after the company lowered its 2023 financial outlook.
Medical Properties Trust, Inc. MPW declined, falling 31% to $3.4650 after it disclosed plans to reduce its exposure to tenant Steward Health Care System. Keybanc analyst Austin Wurschmidt downgraded Medical Properties Trust from Overweight to Sector Weight.
Insights into Commodity Markets
In commodity news, oil saw a 2.3% increase to $73.83 while gold traded down 0.1% at $2,047.90.
Reflections on Commodity Trends:
Euro zone Update
European shares closed mostly lower. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.27%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.43% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.18%. The German DAX fell 0.14% French CAC 40 fell 0.40% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.12%.
Industrial producer prices in the Eurozone declined 8.8% year-over-year in November versus a 9.4% decline a month ago. The inflation rate in the Eurozone increased to 2.9% year-over-year in December versus an over two-year low level of 2.4% in November. The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 43.6 in December versus 43.4 a month ago.
The S&P Global UK construction PMI rose to 46.8 in December from 45.5 in November, while Halifax House Price Index increased by 1.7% year-over-year in December. French construction PMI declined to 42.6 in December from 44.6 in November, while HCOB Germany construction PMI rose to 37 in December from 36.2 in the prior month.
European Market Musings:
Asia Pacific Markets Landscape
Asian markets closed with mixed results on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.27%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.66%, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.85%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.25%.
Foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong rose to $425.5 billion in December versus a seven-month high level of $424.6 billion a month ago. The S&P Global Indian services PMI climbed to 59.0 in December versus 56.9 a month ago. The consumer confidence index in Japan climbed to 37.2 in December from 36.1 in the previous month, while Japanese services PMI was revised lower to 51.5 in December versus preliminary reading of 52.0.
Asia Market Moments:
Economic Developments
The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December versus a revised 173,000 in November, and compared to market estimates of 170,000.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. remained unchanged at 3.7% in December, compared to market estimates of 3.8%.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on US private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4% over a month to $34.27 for December.
The ISM services PMI declined to 50.6 in December, recording the weakest reading in seven months, versus November’s reading of 52.7.
U.S. factory orders rose 2.6% month-over-month in November versus a revised 3.4% decline in October.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs climbed by 1 to 501 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
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