Dow Turns Lower; ISM Services PMI Falls In December

U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index falling around 70 points on Friday.

The Dow traded down 0.19% to 37,369.52 while the NASDAQ rose 0.16% to 14,533.16. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.12% to 4,694.09.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares jumped by 0.9% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, health care shares rose by just 0.1%.

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The ISM services PMI declined to 50.6 in December, recording the weakest reading in seven months, versus November’s reading of 52.7.

Equities Trading UP

Dermata Therapeutics, Inc. DRMA shares shot up 24% to $0.7593 after the company announced the issuance of a new patent in Japan for its DMT410 program for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating that's not always related to heat or exercise).

Shares of Banzai International, Inc. BNZI got a boost, surging 94% to $3.2141. Banzai International signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire IGLeads, a cutting-edge automated lead generation platform.

Revelstone Capital Acquisition Corp. RCAC shares were also up, gaining 90% to $10.74. Revelstone Capital Acquisition cancelled special meeting to approve business combination with Set Jet, Inc.

Equities Trading DOWN

Applied Therapeutics, Inc. APLT shares dropped 35% to $2.4750 after the company released topline results of the ARISE-HF Phase 3 trial of AT-001 (caficrestat) in patients with Diabetic Cardiomyopathy (DbCM) at high risk of progression to overt heart failure.

Shares of agilon health, inc. AGL were down 36% to $7.70 after the company lowered its 2023 financial outlook.

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. MPW was down, falling 31% to $3.4650 after it disclosed plans to reduce its exposure to tenant Steward Health Care System. Keybanc analyst Austin Wurschmidt downgraded Medical Properties Trust from Overweight to Sector Weight.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.2% to $73.79 while gold traded up 0.9% at $2,068.40.

Silver traded up 1.9% to $23.635 on Friday while copper rose 0.2% to $3.8525.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.24%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.41% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.07% The German DAX rose 0.01% French CAC 40 fell 0.33% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.19%.

Industrial producer prices in the Eurozone declined 8.8% year-over-year in November versus a 9.4% decline a month ago. The inflation rate in the Eurozone increased to 2.9% year-over-year in December versus an over two-year low level of 2.4% in November. The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI rose to 43.6 in December versus 43.4 a month ago.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI rose to 46.8 in December from 45.5 in November, while Halifax House Price Index increased by 1.7% year-over-year in December. French construction PMI declined to 42.6 in December from 44.6 in November, while HCOB Germany construction PMI rose to 37 in December from 36.2 in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.27%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.66% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.85%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose 0.25%.

Foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong rose to $425.5 billion in December versus a seven-month high level of $424.6 billion a month ago. The S&P Global Indian services PMI climbed to 59.0 in December versus 56.9 a month ago. The consumer confidence index in Japan climbed to 37.2 in December from 36.1 in the previous month, while Japanese services PMI was revised lower to 51.5 in December versus preliminary reading of 52.0.