U.S. stocks opened on a downbeat note this morning after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced that the country’s armed forces would carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.99% to 32,473.96 while the NASDAQ fell 1.34% to 12,862.96. The S&P also fell, dropping, 1.51% to 4,161.87.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities shares slipped by just 0.4% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included South Jersey Industries, Inc. SJI, up 40% and Sunnova Energy International Inc. NOVA up 3%.
In trading on Thursday, financials shares dipped 3%.
Top Headline
Moderna, Inc. MRNA reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and announces a new $3 billion buyback program.
Moderna posted quarterly earnings of $11.29 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $9.90 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $7.20 billion, versus expectations of $6.79 billion.
Moderna also raised its 2022 signed advance purchase agreements to around $19 billion, with additional signed options of about $3 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Indonesia Energy Corporation Limited INDO shares shot up 57% to $11.85 following a 16% surge on Wednesday.
Shares of South Jersey Industries, Inc. SJI got a boost, shooting 40% to $32.87 after the company announced it will be acquired by the Infrastructure Investments Fund. South Jersey Industries also reported upbeat quarterly earnings.
Lantheus Holdings, Inc. LNTH shares were also up, gaining 33% to $38.50 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results and issued Q1 adjusted EPS and sales guidance and FY22 sales guidance above estimates.
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Equities Trading DOWN
Yandex N.V. YNDX shares tumbled 54% to $15.63 amid Russian market weakness following Russia-Ukraine escalation.
Shares of HeadHunter Group PLC HHR were down 49% to $17.62.
Ozon Holdings PLC OZON was down, falling 41% to $8.95 after dipping 13% on Wednesday.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 8.2% to $99.63, while gold traded up 2.9% to $1,966.00.
Silver traded up 3.2% Thursday to $25.33 while copper rose 1% to $4.5275.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 3.7%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 3.9%. The German DAX tumbled 4.8%, French CAC 40 fell 4.5% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 4.6%.
The consumer confidence index in France declined by 1 point to 98 in February, while the CBI distributive trades survey’s retail sales balance in the UK declined to 14 in February from 28 in the previous month.
Economics
The US economy expanded an annualized 7% on quarter during the fourth quarter, up from 6.9% in the advance estimate.
US initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 to 232,000 in the week ended February 19th.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index in rose to +0.69 in January from a revised level of 0.07 in the prior month.
New home sales dropped 4.5% to an annual rate of 801,000 in January.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.
The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for February is scheduled for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 11:10 a.m. ET.
The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.
The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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Check out the full economic calendar here
COVID-19 Update
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 80,372,400 cases with around 966,530 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 42,881,170 cases and 512,950 deaths, while Brazil reported over 28,485,500 COVID-19 cases with 646,490 deaths. In total, there were at least 430,661,700 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 5,939,600 deaths.
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