US Stocks Higher Following PCE Inflation Data; Nasdaq Jumps Over 200 Points

U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining by more than 200 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.20% to 38,162.13 while the NASDAQ rose 1.36% to 15,823.47. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.73% to 5,085.46.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares rose by 4.9% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, energy shares dipped by 1.2%.

Top Headline

The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation – the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index – rose more than expected in March. The headline PCE price index rose from 2.5% in February 2024 to 2.7% year-on-year in March, beating forecasts of a 2.6% increase, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

Equities Trading UP
                      

• Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc BDRX shares shot up 86% to $1.33 after the company entered an exclusive license agreement with Rapamycin Holdings for the rights to eRapa.
• Shares of Focus Universal Inc. FCUV got a boost, surging 69% to $0.4787 after the company announced board approval for the spin-off of Lusher.
• Pineapple Energy Inc. PEGY shares were also up, gaining 68% to $0.0871.

Equities Trading DOWN

• iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited ICLK shares dropped 50% to $1.27 after the company announced the termination of its merger agreement.
• Shares of Nuwellis, Inc. NUWE were down 43% to $0.1650 after the company reported pricing of $2.7 million public offering.
• Nature Wood Group Limited NWGL was down, falling 39% to $10.31.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $84.12 while gold traded up 0.7% at $2,359.00.

Silver traded up 0.9% to $27.59 on Friday, while copper rose 1.2% to $4.5945.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.8%, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.5% while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 1.4% The German DAX rose 0.8% French CAC 40 rose 0.4% while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 1%.

Bank lending to households in the Eurozone rose by 0.2% year-over-year to €6.875 trillion in March. Spain’s retail trade increased by 0.6% year-over-year in March versus a revised 1.8% gain in the earlier month, while unemployment rate increased to 12.29% in the first quarter.

The consumer confidence indicator in France declined to 90 in April versus a reading of 91 in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.81%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumping 2.12%, China's Shanghai Composite climbing 1.17% and India's S&P BSE Sensex falling 0.82%.

The Bank of Japan maintained its key short-term interest rate unchanged at its April meeting. Singapore’s manufacturing production declined 9.2% year-over-year in March versus a revised 4.4% increase in the prior month.

Economics

The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation – the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index – rose more than expected in March. The headline PCE price index rose from 2.5% in February 2024 to 2.7% year-on-year in March, beating forecasts of a 2.6% increase, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

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