Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Higher; Staples Earnings Miss Views

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.06 percent to 20,867.22 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.09 percent to 5,842.94. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.12 percent to 2,365.90.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose 0.56 percent in trading on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SCMP, and Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. RIGL.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares fell by 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. FGP, down 4 percent, and CGG SA (ADR) CGG, down 4 percent.

Top Headline

Staples, Inc. SPLS posted weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

Staples reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.25 per share on revenue of $4.56 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.26 per share on revenue of $5 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Comtech Telecomm. Corp. CMTL shares shot up 19 percent to $13.27. Comtech reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $139 million.

Shares of e.l.f. Beauty Inc ELF got a boost, shooting up 15 percent to $29.11. e.l.f. Beauty reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.14 per share on revenue of $76.4 million. The company also issued a strong FY17 forecast.

VIVUS, Inc. VVUS shares were also up, gaining 16 percent to $1.21. VIVUS reported Q4 earnings of $0.54 per share on revenue of $81.80 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Tailored Brands Inc TLRD shares dropped 30 percent to $16.27 after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.

Shares of Horizon Global Corp HZN were down around 13 percent to $14.75. Horizon Global reported a Q4 loss of $1.07 per share on revenue of $183.61 million. The company also issued a weak FY17 earnings forecast.

Plug Power Inc PLUG was down, falling around 9 percent to $0.960 after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.05 percent to $49.75 while gold traded down 0.20 percent to $1,207.00.

Silver traded down 0.13 percent Thursday to $17.28, while copper fell 1.10 percent to $2.57.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.19 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.08 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.08 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.04 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.60 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims rose 20,000 to 243,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting jobless claims to total 235,000 in the week.

The import price index increased 0.2 percent in February, while export prices increased 0.3 percent in the month.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 30-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.