Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Jumps Over 200 Points; Staples Shares Surge On Confirmation Of Stake By Starboard Value

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 1.16 percent to 17,736.18 while the NASDAQ jumped 1.51 percent to 4,754.66. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.34 percent to 2,053.22.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Cyclical consumer goods & services shares gained 1.52 percent in Thursday’s trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Dixie Group DXYN, up 11 percent, and Urban Outfitters URBN, up 9.9 percent.
In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares gained by just 0.19 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Olin OLN, down 4.1 percent, and Valhi VHI, off 1.9 percent.

Top Headline
Lululemon Athletica LULU reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. However, the company issued a downbeat forecast.
The Vancouver, Canada-based company posted a quarterly profit of $60.5 million, or $0.42 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $66.1 million, or $0.45 per share. Its revenue climbed 10% to $419.4 million from $379.9 million. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.38 per share on sales of $424.7 million.
For the fourth quarter, Lululemon projects earnings of $0.65 to $0.69 per share on revenue of $570 million to $585 million. Analysts expected earnings of $0.72 per share on sales of $594.8 million.
Equities Trading UP
Covenant Transportation Group CVTI shares shot up 17.67 percent to $28.78 after the company issued a strong Q4 earnings forecast.
Shares of Staples SPLS got a boost, shooting up 9.11 percent to $16.17 on confirmation of stake by Starboard Value.

Restoration Hardware Holdings RH shares were also up, gaining 13.43 percent to $97.75 following earnings results that beat analyst expectations.

Equities Trading DOWN

MEI Pharma MEIP shares tumbled 9.93 percent to $4.86 after the company announced its plans to offer up to $45 million of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.
Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals ARIA were down 4.56 percent to $6.70. Credit Suisse downgraded ARIAD Pharmaceuticals from Neutral to Underperform and lowered the price target from $8.00 to $6.00.
Star Gas Partners, L.P. SGU was down, falling 3.93 percent to $5.95. Star's net loss widened by $11.9 million to $25.8 million in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.10 percent to $61.00, while gold traded down 0.19 percent to $1,227.10.
Silver traded down 0.10 percent Thursday to $17.17, while copper rose 1.05 percent to $2.92.

Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.34 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.09 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.64 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.05 percent while UK shares declined 0.37 percent.

Economics
U.S. retail sales increased 0.7% in November, versus a 0.5% growth in October. However, economists were estimating a growth of 0.4%.
US jobless claims declined 3,000 to 294,000 in the week ended December 6. However, economists were estimating initial claims to reach 296,000 in the week.
US import prices slipped 1.5% in November, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.7% decline.
US business inventories rose 0.20% in October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20% gain.
Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.