U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 100 points. The Dow closed up 0.28% at 41,206.85, while the NASDAQ rose 0.73% to 17,683.80. The S&P 500 also gained, climbing 0.44% to 5,616.60.
Consumer discretionary shares were among the strongest performers, rising 0.8% on the day. In contrast, real estate shares lagged, falling 0.5%.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) reported better-than-expected earnings and sales results for its second quarter on Wednesday, pushing its stock higher. The company issued above-consensus third-quarter revenue guidance and announced a $50 billion additional stock repurchase authorization. However, its gross margin contracted from the first quarter.
Several other stocks experienced notable gains. BioCardia, Inc. (BCDA) shares surged 85% to $4.06 after the FDA cleared the company to market its Morph DNA Steerable Introducer product family. Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (LUCY) shares climbed 90% to $6.30 after announcing that its Lucyd Lyte frames are now being sold on Target.com. XORTX Therapeutics Inc. (XRTX) shares also rose, gaining 41% to $1.6499, driven by research highlighting a potential role for genetic regulation of Xanthine Oxidase and therapeutic targeting of aberrant purine metabolism.
On the other hand, several stocks experienced significant declines. iLearningEngines, Inc. (AILE) shares dropped 51% to $1.5498 after Hindenburg Research issued a short report on the stock. Shares of Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (ENSC) were down 36% to $0.4035 after the company announced a $5 million registered direct offering and concurrent private placement. Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) fell 35% to $0.59 following reports suggesting the company is considering a bankruptcy filing.
In commodity markets, oil traded up 2.5% to $76.39, while gold gained 0.3% to $2,545.60. Silver rose 1.4% to $29.635, while copper fell 0.5% to $4.1955.
European equities were higher on Thursday. The Eurozone’s STOXX 600 index climbed 0.7%, with Germany’s DAX rising 0.7% and France’s CAC 40 gaining 0.8%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.4%, while London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.4%. Germany’s annual inflation rate eased to 1.9% in August from 2.3% in July. However, the consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone declined to -13.5 in August, while the economic sentiment indicator climbed to 96.6.
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.02%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.53%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.50%, and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.43%. Japan’s consumer confidence index remained unchanged at 36.7 in August.
In the U.S. economy, core PCE prices increased by 2.8% from the prior quarter in the second quarter, slightly lower than market estimates of 2.9%. U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 from the prior week to 231,000 in the period ending August 24. U.S. real gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3.0% in the second quarter, up from 1.4% in the first quarter. The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened to $102.7 billion in July. U.S. wholesale inventories rose by 0.3% month-over-month to $905 billion in July.
