Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Down Over 2.5%; Snap Shares Gain On Earnings Beat

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 1.09 percent to 25,185.02 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.25 percent to 7,133.73. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.74 percent to 2,715.16.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed 1.04 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Perry Ellis International, Inc. PERY, up 16 percent, and LSI Industries, Inc. LYTS, up 11 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares tumbled 1.06 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included CGG SA (ADR) CGG, down 8 percent, and JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. JKS down 8 percent.

Top Headline

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd KORS reported upbeat Q4 results and raised its FY 2018 guidance.

The company said it earned $1.77 per share on revenue of $1.44 billion in the fourth quarter. However, Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.29 per share on revenue of $1.38 billion.

Michael Kors raised its FY 2018 earnings guidance from $3.85-$3.95 per shares, to $4.40-$4.45 per shares.

Equities Trading UP

Snap Inc SNAP shares shot up 39 percent to $19.50 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Snapchat reported daily active users up 18 percent year-over-year. Average revenue per user was up 46 percent year-over-year.

Shares of tronc Inc TRNC got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $23.10 after the company confirmed the sale of LA Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to Patrick Soon-Shiong. The company also acquired a majority interest in BestReviews.

DryShips Inc. DRYS shares were also up, gaining 30 percent to $3.71. DryShips reported a $50 million buyback plan and announced a cash dividend for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Equities Trading DOWN

MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc MTSI shares dropped 32 percent to $20.62 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results.

Shares of Black Box Corporation BBOX were down 14 percent to $2.75. Black Box reported a Q3 loss of $1.85 per share on sales of $194.9 million.

Manhattan Associates, Inc. MANH was down, falling around 16 percent to $42.22. Manhattan Associates reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.45 per shares on sales of $144.1 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.56 percent to $61.77 while gold traded down 0.70 percent to $1,320.20.

Silver traded down 1.15 percent Wednesday to $16.39, while copper fell 2.74 percent to $3.1015.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 1.97 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.7 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 2.86 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.60 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.82 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.93 percent.

Economics

Domestic crude supplies gained 1.9 million barrels for the week ended February 2, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts expected a rise of 2.8 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles rose 3.4 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles climbed 3.9 million barrels for the week.

The Treasury will auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on consumer credit for December will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in Hololulu, Hawaii at 5:20 p.m. ET.