U.S. stocks made gains toward the end of trading, lifting the S&P 500 index by over 1% on Tuesday.
The Dow increased by 0.74% to 39,057.10 while the NASDAQ surged 1.41% to 16,245.83. The S&P 500 also saw growth, rising 1.10% to 5,174.28.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology stocks saw a robust 2.1% increase, while utilities shares dipped by 1.1% on Tuesday.
Top Headline
The U.S. consumer price index for February exceeded expectations, with inflation rising to 3.2%, surpassing both the prior and predicted rates of 3.1%. The core CPI also climbed by 0.4% monthly, aligning with January’s figure and exceeding the anticipated 0.3% rise.
Equities Trading UP
ClearOne, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRO) witnessed a remarkable 114% surge to $1.94 after announcing a special one-time cash dividend.
Shares of Regulus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLS) soared 72% to $2.3799 following the announcement of positive results from the Phase 1b MAD study of RGLS8429. The company also secured $100 million in private funding.
Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: PACK) also experienced a boost, with shares rising 51% to $6.60 as the company reported excellent fourth-quarter revenue and issued strong FY24 guidance. Baird also upgraded the stock, increasing its price target from $5 to $7.
Equities Trading DOWN
BYND Cannasoft Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: BCAN) shares tumbled 71% to $0.0295 after announcing a $7.0 million public offering.
Shares of Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDE) fell 29% to $2.8350 post the release of disappointing fourth-quarter revenue results and FY24 revenue guidance below expectations.
Caribou Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRBU) decreased by 24% to $5.49 following worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil decreased by 0.4% to $77.66, and gold witnessed a 1.3% decline to $2,159.60. Silver fell 1.7% to $24.295, while copper dropped by 0.1% to $3.9260.
Euro Zone
European shares showed positivity, with the eurozone’s STOXX 600 rising by 1%. The UK’s consumer price inflation landed at 2.5% for February. The UK’s unemployment rate increased to 3.9%, with regular pay (excluding bonuses) rising by 6.1% year-over-year to GBP 627 per week in the three months leading to January.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets had mixed performances on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping by 0.06%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbing 3.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index decreasing by 0.41%, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex gaining 0.23%.
In India, total passenger vehicle sales in February rose by 9.5% year-over-year to 319,519. Japan saw a 0.6% increase in producer prices year-over-year for February, alongside a decline in the business survey index of large manufacturing firms to -6.7% in the first quarter from 5.7% in the previous quarter.
Economics
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped to 89.4 in February from 89.9 in January. Inflation rates showed a yearly increase of 3.2% in February 2024, surpassing both prior and anticipated levels. The core CPI also rose by 0.4% monthly, aligning with January’s data and exceeding the expected 0.3% rise.