Benzinga Mid-Afternoon Market Update

Towards the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.17 percent to 13,534.20 while the NASDAQ fell 1.08 percent to 3,070.57. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.36 percent to 1,455.70. As a heads up, NPS Pharmaceuticals NPSP is currently halted, awaiting results from the FDA panel this afternoon. The FDA panel discussed a drug released Isis Pharmaceuticals ISIS Tuesday, and after announcing that it caused abnormal growths, shares of the company dropped 20 percent in intraday trading. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals' drug was also reviewed by the FDA panel, receiving a 13-2 vote in its favor, causing a rally in its share price. Top Headline: Google GOOG posted a major earnings miss this afternoon. To the amazement of investors, it published these results midway through trading, rather than after the closing bell. Shares fell over 9 percent until they were halted on the NASDAQ at Google's request. Speculation has surfaced that the earnings were leaked, as google blames its financial printer RR Donnelley RRD for the premature release. Stay tuned to Benzinga for more details as they become available. Equities Trading UP Orient-Express Hotels OEH traded up 22.84 percent to $11.08 after Indian Hotels made an offer to buy out the company this morning WESCO International WCC was also up, increasing 13.70 percent to $65.00 following an earnings beat and reports that it would be acquiring EECOL Electric for $1.16 billion. Shares of Ethan Allen ETH saw a boost as well, rising 19.44 percent to $28.14 following a solid earnings beat after the close Wednesday. Equities Trading DOWN Mankind MNKD remained on a low, down 23.23 percent at $1.97 after the company announced the pricing of its public offering of stock and warrants Thursday morning. Align Technology ALGN remained on a low, trading down 24.37 percent to $26.78 after Cantor Fitzgerald and Jefferies & Co. both lowered their price targets on the company. Shares Mellanox Technologies MLNX continued falling, down 19.82 percent to $78.70 despite and earnings beat Wednesday, after FBN lowered its price target on the company from $140 to $110. Commodities In commodity news, Oil traded down 0.07 percent to $92.05, while Gold traded down 0.60 percent to $1,744.60. Silver traded down 0.50 percent Thursday Morning to $32.73. Euro Zone European markets have been mixed Thursday morning as they brace for the Eurogroup summit later in the day. Spanish and Italian indexes fell slightly, while the German DAX rose slightly. Economics In economic news, continuing jobless claims were reported, coming in at 3.252 million, slightly below the expected 3.275 million, and below the prior figure of 3.281 million. Initial jobless claims were also released, coming in at 388 thousand, above the expected 365 thousand, and a fair amount above the prior report of 342 thousand. The Philadelphia Fed Index came in at 5.7, far above the expected 1.0 and the previous report of -1.9. The Bloomberg consumer comfort index was also reported, coming in at -34.8, above the prior figure of -38.5.