Benzinga - by Lisa Levin, Benzinga Editor.
U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining over 100 points on Friday.
The Dow traded up 0.82% to 34,378.42 while the NASDAQ rose 0.83% to 13,575.24. The S&P 500, also rose, gaining, 0.68% to 4,406.19.
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Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities shares rose by 0.7% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, communication services shares fell by 1%.
Top Headline
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment was revised lower to 69.5 in August versus a preliminary reading of 71.2.
Equities Trading UP
Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM) shares shot up 29% to $17.88 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance.
Shares of YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: YS) got a boost, shooting 47% to $1.1101 after the company announced the purchase of shares by company officers. YS Biopharma announced that chairperson, Mr. Yi Zhang, and its CEO, Dr. Hui Shao, have purchased 429,188 of the company's ordinary shares at an average price of $1.407 per share, and 46,300 ordinary shares at an average price of $1.46 per share on the open market.
Hibbett, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) shares were also up, gaining 22% to $44.99 following upbeat quarterly earnings.
Equities Trading DOWN
Domo, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOMO) shares dropped 41% to $10.01 after it issued a below-consensus third-quarter outlook and lowered FY24 guidance.
Shares of Allego N.V. (NYSE: ALLG) were down 18% to $1.76 after the company announced the commencement of an exchange offer and a consent solicitation of €0.12 per share.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE) was down, falling 17% to $9.87 after Maui County filed a lawsuit against the company alleging a role in the Lahaina wildfires. The company also suspended its divided.
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Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.4% to $79.40 while gold traded down 0.4% at $1,938.70.
Silver traded down 0.1% to $24.225 on Friday while copper fell 0.3% to $3.7615.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.04% London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.07% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.15% The German DAX rose 0.07% French CAC 40 gained 0.21%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.49%.
The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany fell for the fourth straight month to a reading of 85.7 in August. Germany’s economy stagnated during the second quarter versus the prior three months.
Producer prices in Spain fell by 8.4% year-over-year in July following a revised 8% decline in the previous month. The GfK Consumer Confidence indicator in the UK climbed to -25 in August from -30 in the previous month.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 2.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.59% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declining 1.40%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 0.56%.
Imports to Hong Kong fell 7.9% year-over-year to $375.1 billion in July, while exports declined 9.1% year-over-year to $345.2 billion.
Economics
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment was revised lower to 69.5 in August versus a preliminary reading of 71.2.
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COVID-19 Update
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 107,943,700 cases with around 1,173,130 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,996,780 cases and 531,920 deaths, while France reported over 40,138,560 COVID-19 cases with 167,640 deaths. In total, there were at least 694,168,830 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,910,360 deaths.
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