Mid-Day Market Update: US Stocks Surge; PVH Shares Slip On Downbeat Results

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.63 percent to 16,843.66 while the NASDAQ surged 1.07 percent to 4,297.52. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.67 percent to 1,940.81.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Abraxas Petroleum AXAS and Walter Energy WLT.

Cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell around 0.09 percent in the US market on Thursday. Top losers in the sector included PVH PVH, down 7.44 percent, and Vera Bradley VRA, off 7.72 percent.

Top Headline

Ciena CIEN reported upbeat second-quarter earnings.

Ciena posted a quarterly net loss of $10.2 million, or $0.10 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $27.1 million, or $0.27 per share. Its adjusted net income came in at $0.17 per share.

Its revenue rose to $560 million from $507.7 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $557 million.

Equities Trading UP

Halozyme Therapeutics HALO shares shot up 13 percent to $9.13 after the company reported that it will resume PEGPH20 clinical program in pancreatic cancer.

Shares of Ciena CIEN got a boost, shooting up 18.42 percent to $22.49 after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter earnings. Ciena now projected Q3 revenue of $585 million to $615 million.

Verint Systems VRNT shares were also up, gaining 10.43 percent to $51.45 after the company reported upbeat first-quarter results and lifted its full-year forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Rite Aid RAD were 8 percent to $7.82 after the company lowered its FY14 earnings forecast from $0.31 to $0.42 per share to $0.30 to $0.40 per share. The company’s same-store sales increased 3.5% in May.

RCS Capital RCAP shares tumbled 11.04 percent to $20.10 after the company priced 24 million share offering at $20.25 per share.

PVH PVH was down, falling 7.44 percent to $120.96 after the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results and lowered its full-year earnings outlook.

Commodities

In commodity news oil traded down 0.27 percent to $102.63, while gold traded up 0.74 percent to $1,253.50.

Silver traded up 1.45 percent Thursday to $19.07, while copper fell 0.06 percent to $3.09.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today.

The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.51 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 1.12 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.52 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.21 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.06 percent while UK shares dropped 0.13 percent.

Economics

US jobless claims rose 8,000 to 312,000 for the week ended May 31. However, economists were expecting claims to total 310,000 in the week.

Announced layoffs rose 52,961 in May, versus 40,298 in April and compared to 36,000 in the year-ago month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Supplies of natural gas climbed 119 billion cubic feet for the week ended May 30, the US Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting a rise of 114 billion cubic feet to 118 billion cubic feet.

Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.