Crude Oil Declines and U.S. Industrial Production Dips

U.S. stocks experienced a downward trend as trading continued, with the S&P 500 index decreasing by about 0.3% on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.59% to close at 43,459.99, while the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 0.15% to 20,143.34. The S&P 500 also recorded a decrease, sliding 0.28% to settle at 6,057.00.

Sector Performance

In a day of mixed results among different sectors, shares in the communication services sector saw an increase of 0.3% on Tuesday, showcasing some resilience amidst broader market declines.

Conversely, energy stocks faced a setback, dropping by 1.4% during the trading session as crude oil prices fell.

Economic Update

On the macroeconomic front, U.S. industrial production saw a modest decline of 0.1% in November, which was an improvement from the 0.4% decrease recorded in October. This drop was unexpected, as market analysts had projected a slight gain of 0.2% for the month.

Notable Stock Movements

Several stocks were noteworthy in the trading session:

• Portage Biotech Inc., referred to as PRTG, saw a significant surge of 109%, reaching $6.69 following the announcement of a letter of intent for potential acquisitions with Immunova.
• Quantum Computing Inc., or QUBT, enjoyed a robust boost of 38%, climbing to $15.24 after winning a prime contract from NASA for applying Dirac-3 in imaging and data processing.
• Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (TNXP) shares increased by 22%, reaching $0.6461 after the FDA accepted its application for TNX-102 SL for Fibromyalgia.

Declines in Other Stocks

However, some stocks faced sharp declines:

• Vaccinex, Inc. (VCNX) reported a dramatic drop of 62%, closing at $1.40 after receiving a delisting notification from Nasdaq.
• Digital Brands Group, Inc. (DBGI) shares fell by 29% to $2.8201, likely in response to its fiscal year 2025 guidance released on Monday.
• Tenaya Therapeutics, Inc. (TNYA) saw its shares decrease by 53%, landing at $1.3550 following early results from its gene therapy project targeting heart disease.

Commodity Prices

In commodities trading, crude oil prices dipped by 1.6%, bringing the price down to $69.56. Gold also saw a slight decrease of 0.5%, settling at $2,655.80. Other commodities followed suit with silver decreasing by 0.4% to $30.925, and copper falling by 1.3% to $4.1385.

Global Market Trends

European shares mostly trended downward. The STOXX 600 for the eurozone fell by 0.42%, the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.33%, and France's CAC 40 saw a slight rise of 0.12%. Spain's IBEX 35 and London's FTSE 100 faced more substantial declines of 1.52% and 0.81%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Asian markets also closed lower on the same day, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping by 0.24%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipping by 0.48%, China's Shanghai Composite Index down by 0.73%, and India's BSE Sensex declining by 1.30%.

Additional Economic Indicators

• U.S. retail sales experienced a month-over-month increase of 0.7% in November, compared to a revised 0.5% gain in the previous month, exceeding market expectations of 0.5%.
• U.S. industrial production's decline was noted at 0.1% for November.
• Business inventories in the U.S. registered a small increase of 0.1% month-over-month for October.
• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index remained unchanged at 46 for December.

stocks, economy, production