Crude Oil Down 1%; US Pending Home Sales Rise 0.3% In August

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the S&P 500 gaining around 1% on Thursday.The Dow traded up 0.60% to 51,773.24 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.55% to 26,381.21. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.05% to 7,630.78.Leading and Lagging SectorsInformation technology shares jumped by 2.1% on Thursday.In trading on Thursday, consumer staples stocks fell by 0.2%.Top HeadlineU.S. pending home sales increased 0.3% month-over-month in August, following a revised 2.6% drop in July and compared to market estimates of a 2.0% increase.Equities Trading UP Aethlon Medical Inc (NASDAQ:AEMD) shares shot up 390% to $7.00 after the company announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement for an all-stock transaction with North Immunology. Shares of Datasea Intelligent Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:DTSS) got a boost, surging 81% to $1.07 after the company announced its Chinese operating entities have recently entered into AI agent digital marketing service cooperation agreements and pre-order arrangements with five customers. CID HoldCo Inc (NASDAQ:DAIC) shares were also up, gaining 146% to $4.94 following a series of major corporate transactions detailed in SEC filings after the market close on Wednesday. The holding company announced a binding agreement to acquire shared electric vehicle platform Envoy Technologies for $65 million, alongside a senior debt settlement that eliminates default liabilities and a formal presentation to defend its Nasdaq listing. Equities Trading DOWN ReTo Eco-Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:RETO) shares dropped 89% to $0.21 after the company announced the pricing of a $15 million offering of 10 million shares at $1.5 per share. Shares of Delixy Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:DLXY) were down 69% to $0.71. Delixy Holdings recently announced it entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Caog for acquisition or merger of up to 48% of shares in Tarbagatay Munay. Fluence Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FLNC) was down, falling 14% to $7.78 after multiple analyst firms lowered their respective price targets on the stock. CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded down 1.4% to $101.04 while gold traded up 0.4% at $4,405.20.Silver traded up 2.1% to $66.305 on Thursday, while copper rose 2.2% to $6.6500.Euro zoneEuropean shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.86%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.19%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.70%, while France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.57%.Asia Pacific MarketsAsian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.33%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling 0.44%, China’s Shanghai Composite dropping 0.41% and India’s BSE Sensex falling 0.03%.Economics U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 10,000 to 196,000 during the second week of September, compared to market estimates of 208,000. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index dropped to 37.8 in September from 47.4 in the previous month, versus market estimates of 30.5. U.S. housing starts fell 2.6% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 1.275 million units in August. U.S. building permits declined by 2.7% month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.394 million in August, down from market estimates of 1.41 million. U.S. natural gas stocks rose by 44 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 11, compared to market estimates of a 49 bcf gain. U.S. pending home sales increased 0.3% month-over-month in August, following a revised 2.6% drop in July and compared to market estimates of a 2.0% increase. Photo via Shutterstock