U.S. stocks experienced an upswing midway through trading on Friday, with the Dow Jones index making gains of over 100 points.
The Dow traded up 0.32% to 38,170.95 while the NASDAQ rose 0.10% to 15,525.24. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.19% to 4,903.28.
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Changing Tides for Sectors
Health care shares saw a rise of 0.5% on Friday. In contrast, information technology shares experienced a fall of 0.8%.
Top Headline News
Shares of American Express Company surged more than 7% after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results, issued FY24 guidance, and announced plans to increase its dividend.
American Express fiscal fourth-quarter revenue 2023 (net of interest expense) grew 11% year-on-year to $15.8 billion, albeit falling short of the consensus of $16.0 billion. EPS of $2.62 also missed the consensus of $2.64.
Stocks on the Rise
AppFolio, Inc. shares rocketed up 28% to $222.67 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance. Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. also experienced a boost, with shares surging 221% to $27.11 following an announcement about data from a first-in-human clinical study. Meanwhile, eHealth, Inc. shares gained 24% to $6.93 after releasing preliminary results for the fourth quarter.
Stocks Plummeting
Yoshitsu Co., Ltd shares dropped 60% to $0.3133 after the company announced pricing of $4.0 million registered direct offering and private placement. Intel Corporation was also down 10% to $44.44 after issuing a weak forecast for the first quarter despite upbeat results for its fourth quarter. Processa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. fell 25% to $3.8489 upon announcing pricing of its $7 million public offering.
Shifting Commodity Prices
In commodity news, oil traded down 1% to $76.60 while gold traded up 0.1% at $2,018.20. Silver traded down 0.2% to $22.885 on Friday while copper fell 0.1% to $3.8650.
Europe’s Stance
European shares saw an uptick, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbing 1.08%, London’s FTSE 100 rising 1.45%, Spain’s IBEX 35 Index increasing by 0.23%, and the German DAX, French CAC 40, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index also showing gains. Bank lending to households in the Eurozone rose by 0.3% year-over-year to EUR 6.86 trillion in December. In addition, Spain’s unemployment rate fell to 11.76% in the fourth quarter from 11.84% in the prior quarter. The consumer confidence indicator in France rose to 91 in January from 89 in the prior month, while the GfK Consumer Climate Indicator for Germany declined to -29.7 heading into February versus a revised reading of -25.4 in January.
Asian Market Movements
Asian markets ended mostly lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 1.34%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declining 1.60%, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.14%. The index of leading economic indicators in Japan was revised lower to 107.6 in November versus the preliminary reading of 107.7, while the index of coincident economic indicators rose to 114.6 in November from a flash reading of 114.5.
Economic Developments
The headline PCE annual inflation rate held at 2.6% in December, matching both the previous and expected rate of 2.6%. On a monthly basis, the PCE price index rebounded with a 0.2% increase, recovering from a 0.1% decline in November and matching the predicted 0.2% rise. U.S. personal spending rose by 0.7% from a month ago in December, while personal income rose by 0.3%. Furthermore, U.S. pending home sales surged 8.3% month-over-month in December, beating market estimates of a 1.5% increase, and compared to a revised 0.3% decline in November.
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