U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining around 200 points, fueled by a surge in materials shares. The Dow climbed 0.47% to 42,110.56, while the NASDAQ rose 0.19% to 18,117.40. The S&P 500 also saw gains, closing 0.21% higher at 5,734.09.
The positive sentiment in the market was partly driven by encouraging economic data. Initial jobless claims, a measure of new unemployment benefits filed, dropped by 4,000 from the previous week to 218,000 for the week ending September 21. This figure came in lower than the estimated 225,000, suggesting a robust labor market.
Materials shares led the charge, with the sector jumping 1.8% on Thursday. Energy stocks, on the other hand, took a hit, falling 1.9%.
Several companies saw significant share price movements driven by various factors:
Equities Trading UP
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Telesis Bio, Inc. (TBIO)
shares soared 71% to $3.96 after the company announced a partnership with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences to revolutionize DNA and mRNA synthesis. This strategic collaboration holds immense potential for the company’s future prospects.*
Pasithea Therapeutics Corp. (KTTA)
shares surged 66% to $6.37 following the release of safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, and preliminary efficacy data from the first two cohorts of patients in its Phase 1 clinical trial of PAS-004. This positive data significantly bolsters the company’s pipeline and has piqued investor interest.*
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (ADPT)
shares also saw a positive day, gaining 25% to $5.00.Equities Trading DOWN
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Concentrix Corporation (CNXC)
shares dropped 16% to $53.65 after the company reported mixed third-quarter financial results. Investors seemed disappointed with the company’s performance, leading to a sell-off.*
Ryde Group Ltd. (RYDE)
shares fell 30% to $0.81 after the company announced a $4.5 million public offering at $0.85 per unit. This dilution of existing shares weighed heavily on the company’s stock price.*
MDxHealth SA (MDXH)
shares declined 21% to $2.00 following the company’s announcement of the pricing of a $40 million offering of 20 million shares at $2.00 per share. This news also sparked a sell-off among investors.Commodities
In the commodities market, oil traded down 2.4% to $68.00, while gold rose 0.2% to $2,688.80. Silver also gained ground, closing 1.3% higher at $32.435, while copper rose 2.9% to $4.6195.
Europe
European shares were higher on Thursday, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 gaining 1.13%. Germany’s DAX climbed 1.52%, and France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.08%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.39%, while London’s FTSE 100 gained a more modest 0.12%.
Bank lending to households in the Eurozone increased by 0.6% year-over-year to €6.891 trillion in August, reflecting a slight uptick from the previous month’s 0.5% rise. The GfK Consumer Climate Indicator for Germany, a gauge of consumer sentiment, climbed to a reading of -21.2 heading into October, improving slightly from the revised reading of -21.9 in the previous period.
Asia Pacific
Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping 2.79%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surging 4.16%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 3.61%, and India’s BSE Sensex rising 0.78%. Hong Kong’s trade deficit widened to $33.1 billion in August, compared to $25.6 billion in the same month last year.
Economics
The US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 3% during the second quarter, marking an improvement from the revised 1.6% increase in the first quarter. U.S. core PCE prices, a key inflation indicator, increased by 2.8% from the prior quarter during the second quarter, compared to a 3.7% gain in the previous period. This suggests a cooling of inflationary pressures.
U.S. durable goods orders, a measure of orders for manufactured goods, came in mostly unchanged from the previous month in August, following a revised 9.8% jump in the earlier period. Pending home sales in the U.S. rose by 0.6% from the prior month in August, exceeding market estimates of a 0.3% increase. This indicates continued resilience in the housing market despite rising interest rates.
U.S. natural-gas stocks rose 47 billion cubic feet in the week ended September 20, falling short of market estimates of a 52 bcf gain. This suggests a slight increase in demand for natural gas, but below expectations.
