Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher, Costco Posts Upbeat Profit

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.53 percent to 15,383.64, while the NASDAQ rose 0.59 percent to 3,487.82. The S&P was also up, gaining 0.49 percent to 1,656.36. Top Headline
Costco Wholesale COST reported a rise in its fiscal third-quarter net profit. Costco's quarterly profit climbed to $459 million, or $1.04 per share, versus $386 million, or $0.88 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its net sales rose 8% to $23.55 billion from $21.85 billion, while comparable sales increased 5%. Costco's total revenue for the period came in at $24.08 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $1.02 per share on revenue of $24.09 billion. Equities Trading UP
NV Energy NVE shot up, gaining 22.72 percent to $23.66, after Berkshire Hathaway's BRK subsidiary MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co said that it will acquire NV Energy for $23.75 per share, or $5.59 billion.. Clearwire CLWR was also up 20.40 percent to $4.19, after Dish Network DISH lifted its offer for the company to $4.40 per share in cash. First Solar FSLR got a boost, shooting up 6.88 percent to $55.32 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “buy.” Equities Trading DOWN
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP BWP was down, falling 4.38 percent to $29.92, after the company priced public offering of common units. Vanguard Natural Resources LLC VNR shares tumbled 3.96 percent to $28.27 after the company priced its public offering of 7,000,000 common units. Big Lots BIG was down 7.35 percent to $35.56 after the company issued weak forecast. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.39 percent to $91.84, while gold gained 1.14 percent to $1,407.20. Silver traded up 1.30 percent Thursday to $22.75, while copper fell 0.05 percent to $3.30. Eurozone
European shares traded mostly higher overnight save for shares in Spain as the government announced that GDP fell 0.5 percent last month, in line with expectations, but the previous month's figure was reduced to -0.8 percent growth from the initial estimate of -0.5 percent. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.24 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 0.56 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.49 percent and the French CAC 40 surged 0.59 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.16 percent. Economics
US jobless claims surged 10,000 to 354,000 in the week ending May 25. However, economists were expecting claims to increase to 345,000 in the same week. The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.4% in the first quarter, versus an initial estimate of 2.5%. However, economists were expecting growth rate of 2.5%. The Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index declined to -29.70 for the week ending May 26, versus a prior reading of -29.40. Pending sales of homes rose 0.30% in April, versus a prior reading of 1.50%. The pending-home-sales index surged to 106 in April, versus 105.7 in March. The Treasury is set to auction 7-year notes.