US Stocks Mixed; Inflation Rate Falls More Than Projected

U.S. stocks traded mixed this morning, with the Dow Jones index gaining around 0.1% on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 0.09% to 39,801.45 while the NASDAQ fell 0.12% to 17,167.36. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.01% to 5,433.69.

Leading and Lagging SectorsFinancials shares climbed by 0.4% on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, communication services shares fell 0.8%.

Top Headline

Headline CPI inflation fell from 3% in June to 2.9% in July 2024 on a year-over-year basis, falling short of the consensus forecast of 3% tracked by TradingEconomics.

On a monthly basis, inflation increased by 0.2% in July, rebounding from the previous month’s contraction of 0.1% and matching estimates of 0.2%.

Equities Trading UP                       

• Avalon Globocare Corp (NASDAQ:ALBT) shares shot up 195% to $0.75 after the company announced its Laboratory Services MSO, LLC has begun manufacturing the GeeWhiz external male catheter.
• Shares of Digital Ally Inc (NASDAQ:DGLY) got a boost, surging 73% to $1.47 after the company was granted a U.S. Patent for tracking and analysis of drivers within a fleet of vehicles.
• Nuburu Inc (NASDAQ:BURU) shares were also up, gaining 67% to $2.67.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Ouster Inc (NYSE:OUST) shares dropped 24% to $8.31 after the company reported worse-than-expected second-quarter sales results and issued third-quarter revenue guidance below estimates.
• Shares of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRCA) were down 25% to $3.96. On Wednesday, dermatology drug developer Verrica Pharmaceuticals released preliminary results from Part 2 of its Phase 2 trial of VP-315 for basal cell carcinoma.
• European Wax Center Inc (NASDAQ:EWCZ) was down, falling 24% to $5.30 after the company reported second quarter fiscal year 2024 results and named David Berg as Chief Executive Officer.

CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $78.48 while gold traded down 0.4% at $2,497.70.

Silver traded up 0.3% to $27.87 on Wednesday, while copper rose 0.9% to $4.0865.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, Germany's DAX rose 0.3% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.5%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.1%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping 0.58%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 0.35%, China's Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.60% and S&P BSE Sensex rising 0.19%.

Economics

• Headline CPI inflation fell from 3% in June to 2.9% in July 2024 on a year-over-year basis, falling short of the consensus forecast of 3% tracked by TradingEconomics.
• On a monthly basis, inflation increased by 0.2% in July, rebounding from the previous month’s contraction of 0.1% and matching estimates of 0.2%.

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