Crude Oil Gains Over 1%; Genius Group Shares Plummet

U.S. stocks traded mixed toward the end of trading, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite turning higher on Friday.

The Dow traded down 0.28% to 37,607.16 while the NASDAQ rose 0.06% to 14,978.45. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.11% to 4,785.71.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 1% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares fell by 0.9%.

Top Headline

Delta Air Lines Inc DAL shares fell more than 8% on Friday following the release of its fourth-quarter results.

The company reported a fourth-quarter FY23 operating revenue growth of 5.9% year-over-year to $14.22 billion and adjusted operating revenue of $13.66 billion (+11.1% Y/Y), beating the consensus of $13.52 billion. Adjusted EPS was $1.28 above the consensus of $1.17.

Delta Air said it sees EPS of $6 – $7 for the current year, versus the $6.56 estimate. In December 2022, DAL said it was on track for its 2024 earnings target of over $7 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Applied UV, Inc. AUVI shares shot up 29% to $2.9470 after the company announced the launch of its Fighter Flex LED solution at the upcoming AHR Expo on Jan. 22.

Shares of Flexsteel Industries, Inc. FLXS got a boost, surging 26% to $22.74 after the company reported strong preliminary results for the second quarter. The company said it sees preliminary earnings of 57 cents per share, versus analysts’ estimates of 27 cents per share. The company sees revenue of $100.1 million versus expectations of $96.77 million. Flexsteel Industries also issued financial guidance for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025.

Wipro Limited WIT shares were also up, gaining 18% to $6.35 after the company reported third-quarter financial results, issued guidance and declared an interim dividend.

Equities Trading DOWN

Genius Group Limited GNS shares dropped 47% to $0.27 after the company announced pricing of an $8.25 million public offering.

Shares of VCI Global Limited VCIG were down 28% to $1.1290 after the company announced pricing of a $2.75 million public offering.

Momentus Inc. MNTS was down, falling 18% to $1.0191 after the company announced it was notified by the Space Development Agency that it was not selected for funding for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer and that there is substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.2% to $72.85 while gold traded up 1.4% at $2,047.30.

Silver traded up 2.4% to $23.255 on Friday while copper fell 0.9% to $3.7435.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.84%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.64% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.90% The German DAX rose 0.95% French CAC 40 rose 1.05% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.73%.

Spain's consumer price inflation eased to 3.1% year-over-year in December from 3.2% in the earlier month. Household spending in France increased by 0.7% from a month ago in November.

The British economy grew by 0.3% month-over-month in November compared to a 0.3% decline in the prior month. Industrial production in the UK increased 0.3% month-over-month in November versus a revised 1.3% decline in October The UK's trade deficit shrank to £1.408 billion in November from a revised gap of £3.198 billion a month ago.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 1.50%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.35% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.16%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 1.16%.

The gauge for Japan's service sector confidence rose by 1.2 points to a reading of 50.7 in December, while Japan’s current account rose to JPY 1,925.6 billion in November versus JPY 1,772.2 billion in the year-ago period.

China's trade surplus widened to $75.34 billion in December from $70.65 billion in the year-ago month. China's producer prices fell by 2.7% year-over-year in December, while consumer prices fell by 0.3% year-over-year in December.