Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Continue to Take a Beating as Rite Aid Moves Higher

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.55 percent to 16,182.51 while the NASDAQ tumbled 3.06 percent to 4,055.98. The S&P also fell, dropping 2.05 percent to 1,833.37.

Utilities stocks gained Thursday, with Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo

leading advancers. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Companhia Paranaense de Energia

and CenterPoint Energy

. In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.30 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Pernix Therapeutics Holdings

, off 9.2 percent, and Pharmacyclics

, down 9.4 percent.

Family Dollar Stores

reported a

profit. Family Dollar's quarterly profit declined to $90.9 million, or $0.80 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $140.1 million, or $1.21 per share. Its revenue slipped to $2.72 billion versus $2.89 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.90 per share on revenue of $2.77 billion. Family Dollar's same-store sales fell 3.8%. The company also announced its plans to cut jobs and close around 370 under-performing stores. Family Dollar projects current-quarter earnings of $0.85 to $0.95 per share and full-year earnings of $3.05 to $3.25 per share.

Rite Aid

shares shot up 8.91 percent to $6.97 after the company reported

fiscal fourth-quarter net income. Shares of Cash America International

got a boost, shooting up 10.36 percent to $42.49 after the company reported that it is planning to evaluate separation of online business. Gogo

was also on the rise, gaining 1.28 percent to $19.61 after the company announced a contract with Boeing to pursue inflight connectivity.

Shares of Imperva

were down 44.61 percent to $27.55 after the company

outlook. Imperva now expected a loss of $0.40 to $0.44 per share, on revenue of $31 million to $31.5 million. Bed Bath & Beyond

shares tumbled 6.32 percent to $63.62 after the company

in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and issued weak outlook for the current quarter. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price from $87 to $72. FireEye

shares took a beating Thursday, falling 11.90 percent to $49.68 on a mix of market weakness and poor sentiment from Imperva's guidance.

In commodity news,

to $103.28, while gold traded up 1.06 percent to $1,319.20. Silver traded up 1.09 percent Thursday to $20.10, while copper rose 0.08 percent to $3.04.

European shares

today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.43 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.06 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.50 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.54 percent while U.K. shares surged 0.02 percent.