Nasdaq Surges Over 1%; Blade Air Mobility Shares Plummet

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 1% on Tuesday.

The Dow traded up 0.48% to 38,955.84 while the NASDAQ rose 1.12% to 16,198.58. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.82% to 5,159.75.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

 

Information technology shares jumped by 1.8% on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 1%.

Top Headline

 

The U.S. consumer price index exceeded expectations in February.

In February 2024, the inflation rate climbed to 3.2% compared to the previous year, surpassing both the previous and expected rate of 3.1%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI increased by 0.4%, in line with January’s figure and exceeding the predicted 0.3% rise.

 

Equities Trading UP

 

ClearOne, Inc. CLRO shares shot up 120% to $1.99 after the company announced a special-one time cash dividend.

Shares of Regulus Therapeutics Inc. RGLS got a boost, surging 91% to $2.6301 after the company announced topline results from the second cohort of patients in its Phase 1b MAD study of RGLS8429 for the treatment of ADPKD. The company announced an oversubscribed $100 million private placement of equity.

Ranpak Holdings Corp. PACK shares were also up, gaining 42% to $6.20 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue results and issued FY24 guidance. Also, Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and raised its price target from $5 to $7.

 

Equities Trading DOWN

 

BYND Cannasoft Enterprises Inc. BCAN shares dropped 72% to $0.0285 after the company announced pricing of $7.0 million underwritten public offering.

Shares of Blade Air Mobility, Inc.. BLDE were down 29% to $2.8492 after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue results and issued FY24 revenue guidance below estimates.

NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. NRXP was down, falling 27% to $0.4901. NRx Pharmaceuticals initiated a strategy to combat short sellers in the company's stock.

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Commodities

 

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $78.49 while gold traded down 0.9% at $2,169.10.

Silver traded down 1.2% to $24.43 on Tuesday while copper rose 0.2% to $3.9365.

 

Euro zone

 

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.02%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.03% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.57% The German DAX rose 1.19% French CAC 40 rose 0.85% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 1.32%.

German consumer price inflation came in at 2.5% year-over-year in February. The UK’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, while regular pay, excluding bonus payment, increased 6.1% year-over-year to GBP 627/week in the three months to January.

 

Asia Pacific Markets

 

Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.06%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gaining 3.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.41% and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.23%.

Total passenger vehicle sales in India climbed 9.5% year-over-year to 319,519 in February. Producer prices in Japan increased by 0.6% year-over-year in February, while business survey index of large manufacturing firms dipped to -6.7% in the first quarter compared to 5.7% in the prior quarter.

 

Economics

 

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 89.4 in February from 89.9 in January.

In February 2024, the inflation rate climbed to 3.2% compared to the previous year, surpassing both the previous and expected rate of 3.1%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI increased by 0.4%, in line with January’s figure and exceeding the predicted 0.3% rise.

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