Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Up, BlackBerry Posts Profit

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.07 percent to 14,535.85 while the NASDAQ gained 0.01 percent to 3,256.95. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 1,563.05.

BlackBerry

reported a surprise profit for its fourth fiscal quarter. BlackBerry posted a quarterly net profit of $98 million, or $0.19 per share, versus a year-ago net loss of $125 million, or $0.24 per share. Its adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at $114 million, or $0.22 per share. However, analysts were expecting an adjusted loss of $0.30 per share. Its quarterly revenue fell to $2.68 billion, from $2.73 billion, missing analysts' estimates of $2.84 billion.

Signet Jewelers

shot up 8.64 percent to $68.74 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results Shares of BlackBerry got a boost, shooting up 4.83 percent to $15.27 after the company reported a surprise FQ4 profit. Deckers Outdoor

was also up, gaining 5.18 percent to $55.24 after Jefferies raised price target on the stock from $65 to $100.

SYNNEX

shares tumbled 8.37 percent to $37.46 after the company issued weak Q2 earnings forecast. Five Below

was also down, falling 4.49 percent to $37.40 after the company issued downbeat view. Shares of Tumi Holdings

were down 3.21 percent to $21.11 after the company priced secondary offering of 10.14 million shares of common stock at $21.10 per share.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.01 percent to $96.59, while gold traded down 0.60 percent to $1,597.60. Silver traded down 0.60 percent Thursday to $28.44, while copper fell 0.25 percent to $3.44.

European shares were higher today. German retail sales in February rose faster than expected, gaining 0.4 percent vs. an expected decline of 1.0 percent. However, sales rose slower than the 3.1 percent rate in January. The Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.46 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.95 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.53 percent, London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.61 percent, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.83 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.34 percent.

US weekly jobless claims climbed 16,000 to 357,000 in the latest week ended March 23. However, economists were expecting initial jobless claims to increase to 339,000, versus an original estimate of 336,000 in the earlier week. US fourth-quarter GDP rose 0.4% in the fourth quarter, versus the previous estimate of a 0.1% rise. Aftertax corporate profits rose 3.3% in the quarter. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to minus 34.4 in the latest week ended March 24, versus minus 33.9 in the previous period.