Nasdaq Surges Over 1%; Dollar General Lowers Annual Guidance

U.S. stocks extended gains toward the end of trading, with Nasdaq gaining more than 1% on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.66% to 33,125.22 while the NASDAQ rose 1.2% to 13,090.62. The S&P 500, also rose, gaining, 0.97% to 4,220.42.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

• Energy shares rose by 2.2% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Uranium Energy Corp. UEC, up 11%, and enCore Energy Corp. EU, up 11%.
• In trading on Thursday, utilities shares dipped 1.3%.

 

Top Headline

Dollar General Corporation DG reported worse-than-expected first-quarter results and cut its FY23 sales growth outlook.

EPS decreased 2.9% to $2.34 and missed the analyst consensus of $2.38. The company reported sales growth of 6.8% year-on-year to $9.34 billion, missing the consensus of $9.46 billion.

The company sees FY23 EPS in the range of an approximate 8% decline to flat, compared to its previous expectation of growth of approximately 4%-6%. The company sees net sales growth in the range of approximately 3.5%-5.0%, compared to its previous expectation of 5.5%-6%.

 

Equities Trading UP

• U Power Limited UCAR shares shot up 203% to $9.41 after the company announced it entered into a framework strategic cooperation agreement with Quantum Solutions Co in Japan.
• Shares of Lands' End, Inc. LE got a boost, shooting 34% to $8.40 following upbeat first-quarter results.
• Reunion Neuroscience Inc. REUN shares were also up, gaining 62% to $1.1004 after the company announced a $13.1 million take-private transaction with MPM BioImpact.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

• DZS Inc. DZSI shares dropped 32% to $4.0550 after the company announced it will restate its previously issued financial statements for the first quarter and lowered FY23 revenue guidance.
• Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. LXRX were down 20% to $2.6550 after the company reported pricing of $125 million public offering and concurrent private placement.
• Okta, Inc. OKTA was down, falling 18% to $70.88 despite the company reporting better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and raising guidance.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 4.1% to $70.88 while gold traded up 0.7% at $1,996.60.

Silver traded up 1.6% to $23.955 on Thursday while copper rose 2% to $3.71.

 

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.78%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.59% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1.3% The German DAX gained 1.21% French CAC 40 rose 0.55% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 2.01%.

The consumer price inflation rate in the Eurozone dropped to 6.1% in May from 7.0% in the prior month, while unemployment rate fell to 6.5% in April, the lowest rate on record. The HCOB Eurozone manufacturing PMI rose to 44.8 in May versus a preliminary reading of 44.6.

The S&P Global France manufacturing PMI was revised lower to 45.7 in May from a preliminary reading of 46.1, while German manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 43.2 in May from a preliminary level of 42.9.

The HCOB Spain manufacturing PMI declined to 48.4 in May from 49 a month ago. Consumer credit in the UK rose by £1.586 billion in April, while Nationwide House Price Index in the UK fell by 3.4% year-over-year in May.

 

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.84%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declining 0.10% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.01%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%.

Retail sales in Hong Kong climbed 13.3% year-over-year in April. The S&P Global Indian manufacturing PMI rose to 58.7 in May from 57.2 in the previous month. The Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI increased to 50.9 in May from prior month’s reading of 49.5.

Retail sales in Australia came in unchanged at AUD 35.3 billion during April. The au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.6 in May versus flash reading of 50.8.

 

Economics

• The ADP said private businesses in the U.S. added 278,000 jobs in May versus a revised 291,000 gain in April and compared to market estimates of 170,000.
• U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 from the prior week to 232,000 in the week ending May 27, compared to market expectations of 235,000.
• Nonfarm business sector labor productivity fell by 2.1% in the first quarter compared to the preliminary estimate of a 2.7% decline.
• The S&P Global manufacturing PMI was revised lower to 48.4 in May versus a preliminary reading of 48.5.
• The ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 46.9 in May from 47.1 in the previous month and, compared to expectations of 47.
• Unit labor costs in the U.S. nonfarm business sector increased an annualized 4.2% in the first quarter.
• U.S. crude oil inventories climbed by 4.488 million barrels in the week ending May 26, versus market estimates of a 1.386 million decline, the EIA said.

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COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 107,119,070 cases with around 1,165,440 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,990,870 cases and 531,870 deaths, while France reported over 40,086,590 COVID-19 cases with 167,310 deaths. In total, there were at least 689,709,570 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,885,220 deaths.