​Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Restoration Hardware Drops On Weak Revenue; JDS Uniphase Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.13 percent to 17,047.42 while the NASDAQ declined 0.21 percent to 4,576.93. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.03 percent to 1,995.15.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose 0.49 percent on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included FirstEnergy FE, up 1.7 percent, and Huaneng Power International HNP, up 1.6 percent.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Pacific Ethanol PEIX, down 9.1 percent, and Texas Pacific Land Trust TPL, off 4.6 percent.

Top Headline

Lululemon Athletica LULU reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

The Vancouver, Canada-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $48.7 million, or $0.33 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $56.5 million, or $0.39 per share.

Its revenue rose 13% to $390.7 million from $344.5 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.29 per share on revenue of $376.95 million.

Equities Trading UP

JDS Uniphase JDSU shares shot up 10.78 percent to $13.41 after the company announced its plans to spin off its optical components and subsystem operation as a separate company.

Shares of Lululemon Athletica LULU got a boost, shooting up 14.30 percent to $43.88 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Taminco TAM shares were also up, gaining 10.05 percent to $26.28 after the company agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Company EMN for $26 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of E2open EOPN were down 29.98 percent to $10.93 after the company issued a weak full-year revenue forecast and announced the resignation of its chief sales officer David Packer. The company also announced that its three customers will not be renewing contracts. Analysts at Northland Securities, Needham and Pacific Crest downgraded the stock.

Restoration Hardware Holdings RH shares tumbled 4.11 percent to $78.68 after the company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter revenue and issued a weak FY14 revenue forecast. However, the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and raised its FY14 earnings guidance.

Crocs CROX was down, falling 6.92 percent to $14.00. Buckingham Research downgraded Crocs from Buy to Neutral.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.79 percent to $92.39, while gold traded down 0.50 percent to $1,239.10.

Silver traded down 1.59 percent Thursday to $18.63, while copper fell 0.58 percent to $3.09.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.12 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.47 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.23 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.09 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.22 percent while UK shares slipped 0.45 percent.

Economics

US jobless claims increased 11,000 to 315,000 in the week ended September 6. However, economists were expecting initial claims to reach 300,000 in the recent week.

US natural-gas inventories climbed 92 billion cubic feet on the week ended September 5, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, analysts were expecting a rise of about 82 bcf and 85 bcf.

US budget deficit narrowed to $128.7 billion in August, from $147.9 billion in the year-ago month.

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