Benzinga - by Avi Kapoor, Benzinga Staff Writer.
U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, following the release of economic reports on Thursday.
Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.24% to 37,180.82 while the NASDAQ rose 0.60% to 14,822.95. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.50% to 4,730.68.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares rose by 2.5% on Thursday.
In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares fell by 0.7%.
Top Headline
U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 202,000 in the week ending Dec. 9, well below market estimates of 220,000.
Equities Trading UP
Freight Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGT) shares shot up 392% to $1.33 after the company announced Amazon Mexico renewed its selection of Fr8App for its logistical solutions.
Shares of XBP Europe Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: XBP) got a boost, surging 80% to $10.20 after declining around 20% on Wednesday.
Nxu, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXU) shares were also up, gaining 51% to $0.0294 after the company signed a letter of intent outlining investment in Lynx Motors.
Equities Trading DOWN
Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) shares dropped 28% to $4.28 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results and issued first-quarter sales guidance below estimates.
Shares of NextCure, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXTC) were down 28% to $1.0501 after the company issued year-end clinical pipeline updates.
Cepton, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) was down, falling 26% to $2.94 after the company posted downbeat third-quarter sales and issued weak FY23 revenue forecast. Craig-Hallum downgraded Cepton from Buy to Hold.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 3.1% to $71.59 while gold traded up 2.7% at $2,051.30.
Silver traded up 6.4% to $24.38 on Thursday while copper rose 2.9% to $3.8960.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 1.2%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.6% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.1% The German DAX rose 0.7% French CAC 40 jumped 1.1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.4%.
The ECB kept interest rates unchanged for the second straight meeting, while the Bank of England held its benchmark interest rate at 5.25% for the third straight time.
Spain's consumer price inflation fell to 3.2% year-over-year in November from 3.5% in the prior month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.73%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 1.07% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.33%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 1.3%.
Manufacturing production in Hong Kong rose 4.4% year-over-year in the third quarter compared to a revised 2.7% rise in the prior period. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) held its base rate at 5.75% at its recent meeting.
Indian wholesale prices rose by 0.26 percent year-over-year in November. Japan’s industrial production growth was revised higher to 1.3% month-over-month in October versus a flash reading of 1.0%.
Economics
U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 202,000 in the week ending Dec. 9, well below market estimates of 220,000.
Export prices in the U.S. declined 0.9% month-over-month in November, while import prices declined by 0.4% in November.
Retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.3% month-over-month in November following a revised 0.2% decline in October.
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