Crude Oil Edges Higher; US Retail Sales Top Expectations

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 0.5% on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.28% to 43,199.12 while the NASDAQ rose 0.53% to 18,464.23. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.30% to 5,860.00.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares jumped by 1.1% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, real estate shares fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month in September compared to a 0.1% increase in August and higher than market estimates of a 0.3% rise.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Gevo, Inc. GEVO shares shot up 18% to $2.6450 after the company announced it secured a DOE conditional commitment loan of $1.46 billion for its net-zero 1 sustainable aviation fuel plant in South Dakota.
• Shares of Nixxy, Inc. NIXX got a boost, surging 116% to $5.12 after the company provided updates on the business including its acquisition strategy in traditional markets and enhancing operations through technology and data analytics.
• Iridium Communications Inc IRDM shares were also up, gaining 16% to $35.11 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter revenue results and raised its FY24 OEBITDA guidance.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. PAL shares dropped 23% to $10.68 after the company announced it expects its third-quarter net income to be significantly degraded due to a reduced level of revenue and resulting loss of operating leverage. Also, the company said it expects that the Longshoremen strike could have negatively impacted unit volumes during the fourth quarter and beyond.
• Shares of Cerus Corporation. CERS were down 20% to $1.4486 after the company provided updates on its INTERCEPT red blood cell programs in the US and Europe.
• Lucid Group, Inc. LCID was down, falling 15% to $2.7950 after the company announced the pricing of an offering and corresponding investment from an affiliate of the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.5% to $70.76 while gold traded up 0.6% at $2,706.20.

Silver traded down 0.2% to $31.91 on Thursday, while copper fell 0.6% to $4.3435.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.8%, Germany's DAX rose 0.60% and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.23%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.6%, while London's FTSE 100 gained 0.56%.

The European Central Bank cut its three key interest rates by 25 bps in October. Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone fell to 1.7% in September versus initial estimates of 1.8% and compared to 2.2% in August.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.69%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 1.02%, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipping 1.05% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.61%.

Economics

• Industrial production in the U.S. declined 0.3% from a month ago in September.
• U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 in the week ending Oct. 12.
• The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index climbed to 10.3 in October compared to 1.7 in September and topping market estimates of 3.
• U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month in September compared to a 0.1% increase in August and higher than market estimates of a 0.3% rise.
• Total business inventories increased by 0.3% month-over-month in August.
• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 43 in October from 41 in the prior month.
• U.S. natural-gas stocks increased 76 billion cubic feet during the week ended Oct. 11, compared to market estimates of a 78 billion cubic feet gain.

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