Mid-Afternoon Market Update: 3D Systems Shares Climb On Bank Of America Upgrade; Energy XXI Shares Tumble

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.05 percent to 17,918.07 while the NASDAQ declined 0.08 percent to 4,943.37. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 2,082.67.

On Thursday, telecommunications services shares gained by 0.42 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 4 percent, and

, up 2 percent. In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares fell by 0.45 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 13 percent, and

, down 9 percent.

reported a drop in its net income for the first quarter. The bank posted quarterly net income of $2.7 billion or $0.21 a share for the quarter representing 13 percent year-over-year drop. The results included $1.2 billion or $0.07 a share of unfavorable market-related NII adjustments and $0.9 billion or $0.05 a share in annual retirement-eligible incentive compensation costs. Last year, the company earned $0.25 a share in the first quarter. Bank of America said that revenue, on a FTE basis, fell 3.24 percent to $20.9 billion from $21.6 billion in the previous year quarter. Street analysts estimated the company to deliver earnings of $0.21 a share and revenue of $20.3 billion.

shares shot up 63 percent to $0.605 after the company reported the completion of an investigation conducted by the Board of Director's audit committee and independent directors. The committee found no identified material misstatements in the company's historical financial statements and no substantial evidence to support a finding of fraud or willful misconduct of management. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 11 percent to $18.43. BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded 3D Systems from Underperform to Buy, while raising the price objective from $11 to $26.

shares were also up, gaining 61 percent to $0.393. Synta Pharmaceuticals announced plans to merge with privately-held Madrigal Pharmaceuticals.

shares dropped 19 percent to $27.32 as the company lowered its revenue and adjusted gross margin guidance for the third quarter. The company projected revenue of around $2.6 billion and adjusted gross margin of 23 percent. Shares of

were down 72 percent to $0.181 after the company announced that it and some of its subsidiaries have entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with holders of more than 63 percent of its secured second lien 11.0 percent notes. Energy XXI added that in order to implement the terms of the RSA, it has commenced cases under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

was down, falling around 13 percent to $9.51 ahead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision on Friday to approve or reject the company's therapy. The status of its oral treatment for acromegaly, a capsule known as Mycapssa, will be in focus on Friday. The Street's biotechnology expert Adam Feuerstein stated that an investor source believes the FDA will reject Chiasma's capsules because data from a single-arm study failed to demonstrate a clinically meaningful benefit among patients.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.02 percent to $41.77 while gold traded down 1.70 percent to $1,227.10. Silver traded down 0.89 percent Thursday to $16.18, while copper rose 0.12 percent to $2.17.

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.27 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.46 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.90 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.67 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.47 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.03 percent.

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.10 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent growth. U.S. jobless claims dropped 13,000 to 253,000 last week. However, economists were projecting initial jobless claims to reach 270,000 in the week. Natural-gas supplies slipped 3 billion cubic feet for the week ended April 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.