Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Joy Global Reports Wider-Than-Expected Q1 Loss

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.24 percent to 16,858.88 while the NASDAQ declined 0.23 percent to 4,692.74. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.28 percent to 1,980.98.

On Thursday, financial shares rose by 0.14 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares fell by 0.80 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 8 percent, and

, down 5 percent.

reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter on Thursday. On an adjusted basis, Joy Global reported a quarterly loss of $0.23 per share, on net sales of $526.3 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.12 per share, on sales of $528.3 million. Joy Global reiterated its 2016 earnings forecast of $0.10 to $0.50 per share on revenue of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion.

shares shot up 31 percent to $26.45. Samsonite is near a deal to acquire Tumi Holdings in a deal that could be valued close to $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $1.56. Verastem reported a FY15 loss of $1.61 per share.

shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $21.98 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued a strong outlook for the current quarter.

shares dropped 22 percent to $6.96 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q4 earnings. Shares of

were down 19 percent to $16.78. Ciena reported upbeat quarterly earnings, but the company missed analysts' sales expectations. The company expects Q2 revenue towards the low end of estimates.

was down, falling around 16 percent to $1.80. Alimera Sciences reported a Q4 loss of $0.24 per share on revenue of $5.8 million.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.75 percent to $34.40, while gold traded up 0.06 percent to $1,242.50. Silver traded down 0.21 percent Thursday to $14.99, while copper rose 0.50 percent to $2.19.

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.57 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.15 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.26 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.41 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.14 percent.

US jobless claims increased 6,000 to 278,000 in the last week of February. However, economists were projecting jobless claims to reach 271,000 in the week. U.S. nonfarm productivity declined at an annual pace of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, versus economists' expectations for a 3.2 percent decline. The Markit services PMI slipped to 49.70 in February, versus a prior reading of 49.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 49.80. US factory orders rose 1.60 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 2.00 percent growth. The ISM non-manufacturing index declined to 53.40 in February, versus a previous reading of 53.50. However, economists were estimating a reading of 53.20.