Nasdaq Down 1%; US Initial Jobless Claims Fall

U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 1% on Thursday.

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.84% to 46,176.67 while the NASDAQ fell 0.99% to 21,625.40. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.71% to 6,528.80.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 1.4% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, consumer discretionary stocks fell by 1.7%.

Top Headline

U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 9,000 to 202,000 in the fourth week of March, compared to market estimates of 212,000.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Sky Quarry Inc (SKYQ) shares shot up 71% to $4.33 after the company announced that it’s in discussions with crude oil companies in Nevada about increasing local production that could supply its Foreland Refinery.
• Shares of Cocrystal Pharma Inc (COCP) got a boost, surging 36% to $1.38 after the company announced that it has received Fast Track designation from the FDA for its CDI-988, the first oral antiviral candidate being developed for treatment and prophylaxis of norovirus infection.
• TMD Energy Ltd (TMDE) shares were also up, gaining 39% to $1.47. Shares of oil & gas-related companies traded higher after President Trump’s commitment to continuing strikes on Iran amid ongoing concern over transport security through the Strait of Hormuz.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Lipocine Inc (LPCN) shares dropped 78% to $2.00. Lipocine’s LPCN 1154 missed Phase 3 primary endpoint in postpartum depression.
• Shares of PMGC Holdings Inc (ELAB) were down 65% to $4.86 after jumping 134% on Wednesday. The volatility comes after the company announced a $4.55 million common stock issuance to Streeterville Capital, LLC under its $20 million equity line of credit (ELOC).
• Quhuo Ltd (QH) – ADR was down, falling 21% to $0.085. Quhuo (QH) received staff delisting determination letter from Nasdaq.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 10.2% to $110.31 while gold traded down 2.4% at $4,697.80.

Silver traded down 5.5% to $71.905 on Thursday, while copper fell 1% to $5.5885.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 1.1%. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.2%, Germany's DAX dipped 1.6% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.9% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 2.38%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index falling 0.70%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.74% and India's BSE Sensex gaining 0.25%.

Economics

• U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 9,000 to 202,000 in the fourth week of March, compared to market estimates of 212,000.
• The U.S. goods trade deficit increased to $83.5 billion in February versus a revised $80.9 billion in the prior month.

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