Nasdaq Moves Lower; US Consumer Sentiment Falls In May

U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 0.2% points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.12% to 39,516.53 while the NASDAQ fell 0.21% to 16,311.23. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.01% to 5,213.72.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Financials shares rose by 0.4% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares fell by 0.7%.

Top Headline

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment declined to 67.4 in May versus 77.2 in the prior month, recording the weakest level in six months. However, markets were expecting a reading of 76.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Novavax, Inc. NVAX shares shot up 124% to $10.02 after the company and Sanofi announced a co-exclusive licensing agreement to commercialize a COVID-19 vaccine and develop COVID-influenza combination vaccines.
• Shares of Sweetgreen, Inc. SG got a boost, surging 38% to $32.46 after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales results.
• AEye, Inc. LIDR shares were also up, gaining 67% to $1.98 after the company disclosed a partnership with LITEON Technology Corporation.

Equities Trading DOWN

• MacroGenics, Inc. MGNX shares dropped 75% to $3.6850 after the company reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results.
• Shares of Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. EVLV were down 37% to $2.41 after the company reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results and lowered its FY24 sales guidance below estimates.
• Flux Power Holdings, Inc. FLUX was down, falling 27% to $3.36 after the company reported worse-than-expected quarterly financial results.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.5% to $78.89 while gold traded up 1.3% at $2,371.20.

Silver traded up 0.4% to $28.475 on Friday, while copper rose 1.2% to $4.6415.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.77%, Germany's DAX rose 0.46% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.38%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.50%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.63%.

Industrial production in Italy declined by 0.5% month-over-month in March compared to a revised flat reading in the prior month.

The GDP in the UK expanded 0.4% month-over-month in March compared to revised 0.2% gain in February. UK’s trade deficit shrank to £1.098 billion in March versus a revised £1.478 billion in the previous month. Industrial production in the UK climbed 0.2% month-over-month during March.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed higher on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.41%, China's Composite Index gaining 0.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gaining 2.30% and India's S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.36%.

The gauge for Japan's service sector fell to 47.4 in April from 49.8 in the prior month, while value of loans in Japan rose 3.1% year-over-year in April. Japanese current account surplus widened to JPY 3,398.8 billion in March versus JPY 2,360.0 billion in the year-ago month.

Economics

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment declined to 67.4 in May versus 77.2 in the prior month, recording the weakest level in six months. However, markets were expecting a reading of 76.

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