Nasdaq Surges Over 100 Points; Yum! Brands Posts Downbeat Results
U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 150 points on Wednesday.
The Dow traded up 0.47% to 38,701.01 while the NASDAQ rose 0.89% to 15,748.69. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.82% to 4,994.75.
Check This Out: Top 5 Energy Stocks That May Explode In February
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Consumer discretionary shares rose by 1.1% on Wednesday.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 0.2%.
Top Headline
Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM) reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.
The company posted fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 sales growth of 1% year-on-year to $2.04 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Adjusted EPS was $1.26, below the consensus of $1.40.
Equities Trading UP
MicroCloud Hologram Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLO) shares shot up 497% to $8.95. The company announced it planned to join the Communications Industry Association. HOLO intends to join the Communications Industry Association to foster information technology innovation.
Shares of Glatfelter Corporation (NYSE:GLT) got a boost, surging 72% to $2.20 after the company and Berry Global announced they entered into definitive agreements for Berry to spin-off and merge the majority of its Health, Hygiene and Specialties segment to include its Global Nonwovens and Films business with Glatfelter.
Aviat Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNW) shares were also up, gaining 25% to $37.47 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY24 revenue guidance above estimates.
Equities Trading DOWN
Triumph Group, Inc. (NYSE:TGI) shares dropped 18% to $13.46 after the company reported below-consensus third-quarter results and cut the FY24 outlook.
Shares of The Container Store Group, Inc. (NYSE:TCS) were down 41% to $0.9998 following weak quarterly results.
Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) was down, falling 35% to $11.30 after the company reported mixed quarterly results.
Also Check This Out: Spotify To Rally Around 36%? Here Are 10 Top Analyst Forecasts For Wednesday
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.8% to $73.89 while gold traded mostly flat at $2,051.10.
Silver traded down 0.5% to $22.365 on Wednesday while copper fell 1.2% to $3.7365.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.23%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.68% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 1.15% The German DAX fell 0.65% French CAC 40 fell 0.36% while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.45%.
France’s current account deficit shrank to EUR 0.7 billion in December versus a revised EUR 2.9 billion in the prior month, while trade deficit increased to €6.83 billion in December from a €5.9 billion gap in the previous month.
The Halifax House Price Index rose by 2.5% year-over-year in January, while German industrial output declined by 1.6% month-over-month in December.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 0.34% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.44%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, fell 0.06%.
China's vehicle sales climbed by 47.9% year-over-year to 2.44 million units in January. China's foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.219 trillion in January from $3.238 trillion in the prior month. Foreign exchange reserves in Hong Kong fell to $423.2 billion in January.
The index of leading economic indicators in Japan rose to 110.0 in December versus a revised reading of 108.1 in the previous month, while index of coincident economic indicators rose to 116.2 in December from a final reading of 114.6. Reserve assets in Japan declined to $1.292 trillion in January from $1.295 trillion a month ago.
Economics
U.S. mortgage applications increased by 3.7% on the week ending Feb. 2.
The trade deficit in the U.S. came in at $62.2 billion in December versus a revised $61.9 billion gap in November.
Crude oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 5.521 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 2, , the most since mid-November.
Now Read This: Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts' Views On 3 Tech And Telecom Stocks With Over 3% Dividend Yields