Nasdaq Down Over 200 Points; US Retail Sales Increase 0.6% In December

U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 200 points on Wednesday.

Following the market opening, the Dow traded down 0.26% to 37,264.12 while the NASDAQ fell 1.54% to 14,714.00. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.81% to 4,727.51.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose by 0.1% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell by 1.6%.

Top Headline

Retail sales in the US rose 0.6% month-over-month in December compared to a 0.3% increase in November.

Equities Trading UP

Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. MIMO shares shot up 300% to $0.3072. Airspan announced a partnership with GCT Semiconductor to develop an RF module.

Shares of LQR House Inc. LQR got a boost, surging 23% to $2.4900 after dipping 45% on Tuesday. LQR House announced an increase of its share buyback program to $5 million.

Atreca, Inc. BCEL shares were also up, gaining 22% to $0.3106.

Equities Trading DOWN

TuSimple Holdings Inc. TSP shares dropped 53% to $0.3303. TuSimple announced intention to delist from the Nasdaq.

Shares of Phunware, Inc. PHUN were down 44% to $0.2323 after the company announced pricing of a $7 million registered direct offering price at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.

DatChat, Inc. DATS was down, falling 39% to $1.93 after the company announced pricing of a $1.8 million underwritten public offering of common stock.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.9% to $71.03 while gold traded down 0.1% at $2,029.10.

Silver traded down 0.6% to $22.950 on Wednesday while copper fell 0.3% to $3.7560.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.3%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.7% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dipped 1.3% The German DAX fell 1% French CAC 40 fell 1.2% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.1%.

The inflation rate in the Euro Area rose to 2.9% in December versus 2.4% in November. Annual inflation rate in the UK increased to 4% in December from 3.9% in November, while factory gate prices of goods produced by manufacturers rose 0.1% year-over-year in December following a revised 0.1% decline in November.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.40%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 3.71% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 2.09%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 2.23%.

Chinese surveyed urban unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in December from 5.0% in the prior three months, while retail sales rose by 7.4% year-over-year in December. The Chinese economy expanded by a seasonally adjusted 1.0% in the fourth quarter, while industrial production rose by 6.8% year-over-year in December.