Nasdaq Falls 150 Points, Morgan Stanley Surprises with Strong Earnings

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping more than 150 points as trading came to a close.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.27%, settling at 43,106.65. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq declined by 0.79%, bringing it down to 19,356.43. The S&P 500 also experienced a dip, falling 0.28% to 5,933.22.

Sector Performance

In terms of sector performance on Thursday, utilities stocks saw a notable increase, surging by 2.3%.

On the downside, consumer discretionary shares were among the biggest losers, with a decrease of 1.1%.

Company Earnings

This week, Morgan Stanley (MS) reported impressive earnings results for the fourth quarter. The bank announced an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.22, a significant rise from $0.85 a year earlier, and far surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.70. Additionally, net earnings more than doubled from $1.52 billion to $3.7 billion.

Morgan Stanley's fourth-quarter revenue reached $16.22 billion, demonstrating a 26% year-over-year increase and exceeding the expected $15.03 billion.

Stocks on the Rise

Several stocks made headlines with notable gains:

• Biomerica, Inc. (BMRA) saw its shares soar by 102%, climbing to $0.6820 after the announcement of its Fortel Prostate Specific Antigen Screening Test receiving approval from the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention.
• Shares of DouYu International Holdings Limited (DOYU) surged 26% to $15.53 following the appointment of Simin Ren as Co-CEO and the declaration of a special cash dividend.
• Symbotic Inc. (SYM) also rose, gaining 19% to reach $31.88 after announcing a deal to acquire Walmart's Advanced Systems and Robotics business.

Stocks Declining

Conversely, several companies faced significant losses:

• Leafly Holdings, Inc. (LFLY) plummeted by 45%, dropping to $0.8001 after receiving a Nasdaq delisting notice and preparing to transition to the over-the-counter market.
• Shares of Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (ATRA) fell 34%, decreasing to $8.70 following a regulatory and business update regarding EBVALLOTM (tabelecleucel).
• Additionally, Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (PSNY) saw a decline of 11%, falling to $1.09 after reporting preliminary third-quarter revenue of $551 million, which was a 10% decrease year-over-year.

Commodities Update

In commodities trading, oil prices dipped by 1.9%, settling at $78.49 per barrel, while gold climbed 1.4% to reach $2,755.10. Silver and copper also saw gains, with silver up 1% to $31.860 and copper increasing by 1.1% to $4.4350.

Global Market Overview

Across the Atlantic, European markets finished mostly higher. The STOXX 600 index surged by 0.98%, Germany's DAX gained 0.39%, and France's CAC 40 climbed 2.14%. However, Spain's IBEX 35 fell by 0.49%, while London's FTSE 100 rose by 1.09%.

Asian markets also experienced gains, with Japan's Nikkei 225 increasing by 0.33%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rising by 0.28%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbing 1.23%, and India's BSE Sensex rising by 0.42%.

Economic Indicators

Several economic indicators were released recently:

• U.S. retail sales rose 0.4% month-over-month in December, down from a 0.8% increase in the previous month and lower than the expected 0.6%.
• Initial jobless claims in the U.S. increased by 14,000 to 217,000 for the week ending January 11, surpassing market expectations of 210,000.
• Import prices saw a slight increase of 0.1% in December, while export prices rose by 0.3%.
• The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index improved to 44.3 in January, recovering from a revised reading of -10.9 in the previous month.
• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 47 in January, up from 46 over the prior two months.
• Business inventories in the U.S. increased by 0.1% month-over-month in November, compared to a flat reading in the previous month.
• According to the EIA, U.S. natural-gas stocks fell by 258 billion cubic feet during the week ending January 1.

stocks, earnings, markets