U.S. stocks soared this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining over 50 points on Friday.
As the market opened on Friday, the Dow traded up 0.04% to 38,805.52, while the NASDAQ rose 0.41% to 16,339.39. The S&P 500 also experienced gains, rising by 0.23% to 5,169.38.
Sectoral Performance
Real estate shares surged by 0.7% on Friday.
Conversely, consumer staples shares declined by 1% during trading on Friday.
Key Developments
Nonfarm payrolls exceeded economist estimates, reaching 275,000 in February, surpassing expectations of 200,000. However, the unemployment rate saw a slight increase from 3.7% to 3.9%, contrary to the anticipated 3.7%.
Average hourly wages showed a 0.1% monthly growth rate in February, a decline from the revised 0.5% growth in January and below the projected 0.3%.
Stocks on the Upswing
Psyence Biomedical Ltd. PBM saw its shares skyrocket by 143% to $3.0831. The surge followed an announcement regarding the initiation of its Phase IIb study by its subsidiary, Psyence Australia.
Shares of Ainos, Inc. AIMD surged 147% to $2.7650.
Safe and Green Development Corporation SGD also witnessed an 85% increase, reaching $1.2197, following the announcement of financing for the Norman Berry Expansion in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stocks on the Decline
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMLX observed an 85% drop to $2.7650 after the company reported disappointing results from its PHOENIX phase 3 trial of AMX0035 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Shares of Nexalin Technology, Inc. NXL were down 17% to $0.4499 following the announcement of clinical study results for its Gen-2 tACS device targeting chronic insomnia.
BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. BBAI experienced a 25% decrease to $2.8099 after reporting underwhelming fourth-quarter financial results.
Commodity Market Movements
In commodity news, oil prices dipped by 0.6% to $78.49, while gold prices increased by 0.7% to $2,179.70.
Silver prices went up by 0.1% to $24.585 on Friday, whereas copper prices fell by 0.4% to $3.9115.
Euro Zone Updates
European shares showed positive movement, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 rising by 0.2%. London’s FTSE 100 dropped by 0.4%, Spain’s IBEX 35 Index climbed by 0.2%, the German DAX dipped 0.1%, and the French CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose by 0.2%.
Various economic indicators in the eurozone indicated mixed performance, with different countries experiencing fluctuations in trade balances and industrial output.
Asia Pacific Markets Update
Asian markets closed on a positive note on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising by 0.23%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 0.76%, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index up by 0.61%.
Economic indicators in Japan showed a mixed picture, with the service sector and leading economic indicators exhibiting different trends in February.
Economic Highlights
Nonfarm payrolls for February exceeded expectations at 275,000, with the unemployment rate edging up to 3.9%. Average hourly wages grew by 0.1% monthly, signaling a slight slowdown in wage growth compared to the previous month.
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