Dow Falls Over 100 Points; U.S. Manufacturing PMI Sees Increase in January

U.S. stocks saw a decline in trading today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 100 points on Friday.

The Dow Jones fell by 0.24%, landing at 44,458.34, while the NASDAQ Composite dipped 0.08% to 20,036.71. The S&P 500 also experienced a slight decline, decreasing by 0.06% to 6,115.26.

Sector Performance

One area of strength was in utilities, where shares surged by 0.7% on Friday. Conversely, energy shares fell by 0.6%, highlighting a mixed performance across various sectors.

Manufacturing PMI Update

The S&P Global manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) showed an increase to 50.1 for January, up from 49.4 in December. This was better than the market's expectations, which had predicted a rise to only 49.7.

Stocks Making Headlines

• Allurion Technologies Inc. saw a remarkable jump of 205%, reaching $11.29, after the company announced plans to raise roughly $7.4 million through an at-the-market offering.
• Dana Incorporated experienced a significant boost, with shares rising 17% to $15.52 following their guidance for FY25.
• Shares of Twilio Inc. increased by 21%, reaching $137.15, after the company provided fourth-quarter earnings guidance that exceeded expectations, along with a year-over-year revenue increase.

Declines in Stock Prices

• Shares of U Power Limited declined sharply, dropping by 25% to $5.77 after the company announced a pricing of a $5 million registered direct offering.
• Midland States Bancorp, Inc. saw its shares fall 16%, dropping to $21.00, as the company reported a year-over-year decrease in fourth-quarter adjusted EPS results.
• Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson saw a decline as well, with shares falling 12% to $7.88 after reporting fourth-quarter financial results that were worse than expected.

Commodities Market Overview

In the commodities sector, oil prices fell by 0.2% to $74.47. Gold prices were up by 0.7% to $2,785.20, while silver also rose 1% to $31.16. In contrast, copper prices fell slightly by 0.2% to $4.32.

International Market Trends

Looking at Europe, most shares traded lower. The STOXX 600 of the eurozone decreased by 0.07%, while Germany's DAX 40 fell 0.13%. France's CAC 40 was one of the few that increased, gaining 0.30%. Spain's IBEX 35 lost 0.23%, and London's FTSE 100 dropped 0.67%.

In Asian markets, results were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.07%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.70%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index saw a strong increase of 1.86%. However, India's BSE Sensex fell by 0.43%.

Economic Updates

• The S&P Global services PMI decreased to 52.8 in January from 56.8 the month prior, underperforming market expectations of 56.5.
• Conversely, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI increased, as mentioned earlier.

stocks, manufacturing, economy