US stock markets kicked off the week on a positive note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining around 0.1% on Monday. The Dow traded up 0.05% to 42,085.59, while the NASDAQ rose 0.02% to 17,951.13. The S&P 500 also joined the upward trend, gaining 0.10% to 5,708.21.
Real estate shares were particularly buoyant, jumping 1.1% on the day. However, information technology shares saw a slight decline, falling by 0.3%.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index, a key economic indicator, rose to +0.12 in August, marking a significant improvement from the revised reading of -0.42 in the previous month and exceeding market expectations of -0.20.
Individual stocks also saw notable movement. Kaival Brands Innovations Group, Inc. (KAVL) shares soared 125% to $1.30 after announcing a merger and share exchange agreement with Delta Corp Holdings. Nuvve Holding Corp. (NVVE) stock surged 110% to $8.25, rebounding from a significant drop on Friday. Treasure Global Inc. (TGL) shares also experienced a strong surge, gaining 80% to $1.2399.
On the other hand, Elevai Labs Inc. (ELAB) shares plummeted 59% to $0.1140 following the announcement of an $8.0 million public offering. Jin Medical International Ltd. (ZJYL) stock dropped 26% to $3.03, and PainReform Ltd. (PRFX) fell 23% to $0.5964 after revealing findings regarding the compatibility of sutures in human clinical trials of PRF-110.
In commodity markets, oil prices dipped 0.1% to $70.92, while gold prices climbed 0.1% to $2,647.70. Silver traded down 1.4% to $31.075, and copper fell 0.4% to $4.3265.
European markets also showed a mixed performance on Monday. The Eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.6%. However, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.4%, and London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1%.
Spain’s trade deficit narrowed to EUR 3.2 billion in July, down from EUR 4.9 billion in the previous year. The manufacturing climate indicator in France edged down to 98.6 in September from 98.9 in the previous month. The S&P Global UK composite PMI declined to 52.9 in September, falling from 53.8 in August and missing market estimates of 53.5.
Germany’s composite PMI continued its downward trend, declining for the fourth consecutive month to 47.2 in September. France’s composite PMI also saw a decline, falling to 47.4 in September from 53.1 in the previous month. The HCOB Eurozone manufacturing PMI slipped to 44.8 in September from 45.8 in the prior month, while the services PMI declined to 50.5 in September from 52.9 in August.
In Asia, markets ended the day mostly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.06%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.44% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.45%. The People’s Bank of China made an unexpected move by cutting the 14-day reverse repurchase rate by 10bps on September 23.
