US Stocks Mixed; Consumer Sentiment Drops In May

U.S. stocks traded mixed this morning, with the Dow Jones gaining over 30 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.11% to 33,346.08 while the NASDAQ fell 0.17% to 12,307.19. The S&P 500, also rose, gaining, 0.04% to 4,132.27.

Check This Out: Top 5 Industrials Stocks That May Explode In Q2

Leading and Lagging Sectors

• Energy shares rose by 0.6% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Green Plains Inc. GPRE, up 4%, and Teekay Corporation TK, up 4%.
• In trading on Friday, information technology shares fell 0.6%.

Top Headline

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment dropped to a six-month low level of 57.7 in May from 63.5 in the prior month.

Equities Trading UP

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SPRY shares shot up 84% to $8.34 after the company reported the FDA's Advisory Committee voted in support of favorable benefit-risk assessment for neffy in the treatment of severe allergic reactions (Type 1), including anaphylaxis.

• Shares of Blue Bird Corporation BLBD got a boost, shooting 40% to $27.05 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results.
• AirSculpt Technologies, Inc. AIRS shares were also up, gaining 42% to $6.94 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 financial results.

Equities Trading DOWN

• TOP Financial Group Limited TOP shares dropped 30% to $6.42. The SEC announced the temporary suspension of trading in the securities of Top Financial Group Limited, of Hong Kong, at 9:30 A.m. EDT on May 12, 2023, and terminating at 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 25, 2023.
• Shares of Heron Therapeutics, Inc. HRTX were down 31% to $1.5287 after the company reported mixed Q1 financial results.
• Cemtrex, Inc. CETX was down, falling 20% to $8.70 after the company reported Q2 results.

Also Check This Out: Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts Say Hold These 3 Materials Stocks Delivering High-Dividend Yields

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $71.70 while gold traded up 0.1% at $2,022.00.

Silver traded down 0.5% to $24.305 on Friday while copper rose 0.9% to $3.7445.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6% The German DAX rose 0.4%, French CAC 40 rose 0.4% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.9%.

Spain's annual consumer price inflation increased to 4.1% in April from 3.3% in the previous month, while annual inflation rate in France increased to 5.9% in April from 5.7% in the prior month.

The UK economy grew 0.2% year-over-year during the first quarter, recording the smallest annual expansion since 2021. Industrial production in the UK rose 0.7% month-over-month in March, while trade deficit narrowed to £2.86 billion in March versus a revised £3.35 billion in the earlier month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.90%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropping 0.59% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 1.12%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.3%.

Hong Kong’s economy expanded 2.7% year-over-year in the first quarter versus a revised 4.1% contraction in the earlier quarter. Annual inflation rate in India eased to 4.7% in April from 5.7% in March.

Economics

• US export prices increased by 0.2% from a month ago in April, while import prices rose 0.4% month-over-month in April.
• The University of Michigan consumer sentiment dropped to a six-month low level of 57.7 in May from 63.5 in the prior month.

Now Read This: Over $5M Bet On This Communication Services Stock? Check Out These 3 Penny Stocks Insiders Are Aggressively Buying

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 106,790,390 cases with around 1,162,690 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,978,170 cases and 531,750 deaths, while France reported over 40,029,700 COVID-19 cases with 166,860 deaths. In total, there were at least 688,143,330 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,873,530 deaths.