U.S. financial markets saw a positive trend mid-week, punctuated by a robust ascent in the Nasdaq Composite index, which surged by more than 200 points on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased, closing at 49,462.35, representing a 0.78% rise. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite advanced by 0.94% to 23,443.19, with the S&P 500 also posting gains of approximately 0.63%, settling at 6,918.78.
The communication services sector demonstrated strong momentum, climbing 1.3%. In contrast, utility stocks experienced a modest setback on the previous trading day, declining by 0.5% on Wednesday.
A focal point for investors was Abbott Laboratories, whose stock price declined sharply by over 7% following its release of fourth-quarter 2025 financial results and the issuance of an earnings outlook for the first quarter of 2026 that did not meet market expectations.
Specifically, Abbott reported quarterly sales totaling $11.46 billion, narrowly missing the consensus forecast of $11.80 billion. This represented a reported sales increase of 4.4%, alongside a 3% organic sales growth, or 3.8% when excluding revenues related to COVID-19 testing.
Adjusted earnings per share were reported at $1.50, aligning with estimates provided by Wall Street analysts.
Within individual equities, 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. saw a remarkable jump of 158%, with shares reaching $5.15. The surge followed the company's announcement of a strategic partnership with Runway Health aimed at broadening pre-departure access to its product ARAKODA.
Eagle Bancorp, Inc. shares gained momentum as well, climbing 18% to $28.25 after releasing quarterly financial outcomes that surpassed analyst expectations.
Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation's shares increased 52%, closing at $4.4494, buoyed by news confirming the completion of its lending division sale.
Conversely, C3is Inc. suffered a significant decline, with shares plunging 37% to $0.088, largely tied to its announcement of a 1-for-20 reverse stock split intended to consolidate stock units.
Mingteng International Corporation also faced considerable downward pressure, with shares decreasing 34% to $0.020 subsequent to the company's declaration of a 1-for-200 reverse stock split.
POET Technologies Inc. saw its stock fall by 12% to $7.35 after disclosing a $150 million offering comprising approximately 20.690 million shares.
Turning to commodities, crude oil prices retreated by 2.1%, settling at $59.37 per barrel. Meanwhile, gold registered a 0.6% increase in value, trading around $4,864.60.
Silver prices surged by 2.7% to $95.135, while copper experienced a slight decline of 0.4%, with prices adjusting to $5.7435.
European equity markets generally experienced upward movement, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 index advancing 1.09%. Individual markets showed gains as well: Spain's IBEX 35 rose 1.01%, Germany's DAX increased by 1.19%, France's CAC 40 recorded a 1.12% gain, and London's FTSE 100 modestly gained 0.26%.
Meanwhile, in the Asia Pacific region, major indices closed higher. Japan's Nikkei posted a 1.73% increase, followed by Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index with a 0.17% rise. China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.14%, and India's BSE Sensex went up by 0.49%.
From an economic standpoint in the United States, initial jobless claims slightly rose by 1,000 to reach 200,000 for the week ending January 17.
Additionally, the U.S. economy expanded at an annualized rate of 4.4% during the third quarter, which was an upward revision from an earlier estimate of 4.3%, marking the most robust economic growth since the third quarter of 2023.
Personal income rose by 0.3% on a month-over-month basis to $26.403 trillion in November, representing a faster increase than the 0.1% growth recorded in October.
Personal spending in the U.S. increased by 0.5% month-over-month in November, reaching an annualized $21.410 trillion and matching the gain seen in the previous month.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.2% month-over-month in November, consistent with the figures from the prior month and aligned with market forecasts.