Nasdaq Jumps Over 2%; Walmart Earnings Top Views

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 2% on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 1.25% to 40,509.36 while the NASDAQ jumped 2.24% to 17,577.21. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.51% to 5,537.70.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed by 2.8% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell 0.3%.

Top Headline

Walmart Inc WMT announced strong second-quarter results and raised full-year guidance.

The retailer reported adjusted EPS of 67 cents (+9.8% Y/Y), beating the consensus of 64 cents. Sales were $169.34 billion, up 4.8% year over year or 5.0% (at constant currency), beating the consensus of $168.57 billion.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Cingulate Inc. CING shares shot up 123% to $4.1299 after the company was granted European patent No. 3261625 for CTx-1301, its lead asset for the treatment of ADHD.
• Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS got a boost, surging 28% to $26.58 after the company said its first five commercial satellites are on target for orbital launch in the first half of September.
• SciSparc Ltd. SPRC shares were also up, gaining 43% to $0.4599 after the company announced the courts approval to convene a meeting of shareholders to approve a merger with AutoMax.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Turnstone Biologics Corp. TSBX shares dropped 52% to $1.0598 after the company reported worse-than-expected second-quarter EPS results.
• Shares of SIGA Technologies, Inc. SIGA were down 33% to $8.06 after the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced topline results from a preliminary analysis of the PALM 007 trial of Tecovirimat for Monkeypox virus did not meet its primary endpoint.
• Terran Orbital Corporation LLAP was down, falling 40% to $0.2381. Lockheed Martin announced plans to acquire Terran Orbital.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.5% to $78.19 while gold traded up 0.5% at $2,492.00.

Silver traded up 3.9% to $28.395 on Thursday, while copper rose 3% to $4.16.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.18%, Germany's DAX rose 1.67% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.25%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 1.16%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.74%.

The British economy grew by 0.9% year-over-year in the second quarter, recording the biggest annual growth rate since the third quarter of 2022. Labor productivity in the UK increased 0.3% on quarter during the second quarter. The UK’s trade deficit narrowed to £5.32 billion in June versus a revised £5.77 billion in the earlier month. Industrial production in the UK climbed 0.8% month-over-month for June.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping 0.78%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.03% and China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.94%.

Industrial production in Japan fell by 4.2% month-over-month during June, while Japanese economy expanded by 3.1% on an annualized basis in the second quarter. China’s retail sales climbed by 2.7% year-over-year in July versus market estimates of 2.6%. China's industrial production rose by 5.1% year-over-year in July.

Economics

• U.S. retail sales gained 1% month-over-month in July versus a revised 0.2% decline in June and higher than market estimates of a 0.3% gain.
• The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index declined to -7 in August from 13.9 in July and versus market estimates of 7.
• The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index rose to -4.7 in August, notching the highest level in six months.
• Export prices increased 0.7% month-over-month in July, while import prices rose 0.1%.
• U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 7,000 to 227,000 in the week ending August 10, versus market estimates of 235,000.
• U.S industrial production declined by 0.6% from the prior month in July compared to a revised 0.3% gain in June.
• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index declined to 39 in August, recording the lowest level so far in 2024.
• Total business inventories increased by 0.3% month-over-month in June compared to a 0.5% rise in the earlier month.
• U.S. natural-gas supplies fell 6 billion cubic feet during the week ended Aug. 9.

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