Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)

Market Digest: CRM, AIG, LOW, MCK, WENStocks rose on Thursday afternoon, recovering from early losses despite more hot inflation data. In Europe, the EU statistics agency said that Eurozone consumer prices rose at an 8.5% annualized rate in February, down slightly from January but above the consensus forecast of 8.2% growth. Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, also rose from the prior month. The report set the stage for further aggressive rate hikes from the ECB, including a likely 50-basis-point hike on March 16. In the U.S., weekly jobless claims were lower than expected, and remained below 200,000 for the seventh straight week. The Labor Department also said that 4Q unit labor costs rose at a 3.2% rate from the prior quarter, up from its initial estimate of 1.1% growth. On the earnings front, Salesforce was a bright spot. Salesforce shares jumped more than 11% after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal 4Q23 results and issued strong guidance for FY24. The Dow rose 1.05%, the S&P 0.76%, and the Nasdaq 0.73%. Crude oil traded near $78 per barrel, while gold rose slightly to $1842 per ounce.