Mid-Afternoon Market Update: US Stocks Turn Mostly Negative; Rocket Fuel Shares Surge On Upbeat Results

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.03 percent to 17,607.03 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.15 percent to 4,668.16. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.33 percent to 2,031.54.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Cyclical consumer goods & services shares jumped by 0.47 percent on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included DreamWorks Animation SKG DWA, up 12.3 percent, and China XD Plastics Company CXDC, up 7.2 percent.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 2.21 percent. Top losers in the sector included Comstock Resources CRK, down 10 percent, and Willbros Group WG, off 9.8 percent.

Top Headline

Wal-Mart Stores WMT reported upbeat results for the third quarter.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company posted quarterly net income of $3.71 billion, or $1.15 per share, versus $3.74 billion, or $1.14 per share, in the year-ago period.

Its sales climbed to $119 billion from $115.7 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.12 per share on revenue of $118.4 billion. Comparable sales at Walmart US increased 0.5%.

Equities Trading UP

DreamWorks Animation SKG DWA shares shot up 12.20 percent to $25.10 on the Deadline Hollywood report of possible acquisition by Hasbro HAS.

Shares of Rocket Fuel FUEL got a boost, shooting up 23.23 percent to $20.00 after beating third-quarter expectations and posting a fourth quarter outlook higher than the Wall Street consensus.

Cyber-Ark Software CYBR shares were also up, gaining 22.97 percent to $41.44 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and issued a strong Q4 outlook.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of RCS Capital RCAP were down 10.09 percent to $10.42 after the company reported downbeat quarterly earnings.

J. C. Penney Company JCP shares tumbled 7.99 percent to $7.14 after the company reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss, but its sales were slightly below the Wall Street consensus. The company also posted flat same-store sales in the quarter.

Kohl's KSS was down, falling 3.14 percent to $56.09 after the company reported weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter profit.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.80 percent to $75.02, while gold traded down 0.09 percent to $1,158.00.

Silver traded down 0.34 percent Thursday to $15.57, while copper fell 1.26 percent to $2.99.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.23 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.17 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.41 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.19 percent while UK shares dropped 0.37 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims increased 12,000 to 290,000 in the week ended November 8. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 280,000 in the week.

US oil supplies slipped 1.7 million barrels for the week ended November 7, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, analysts were estimating a drop of 500,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories climbed 1.8 million, while supplies of distillates dropped 2.8 million barrels.

The US federal budget deficit widened around 34% y/y to $121.70 billion in October, according to the Treasury Department. However, economists were expecting a budget deficit of $122 billion.

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