Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Acacia Communications Drops On Weak Outlook; RH Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.26 percent to 20,755.65 while the NASDAQ declined 0.15 percent to 5,826.64. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.20 percent to 2,359.05.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed by 0.64 percent in trading on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Exelon Corporation EXC, and FirstEnergy Corp. FE.

In trading on Friday, energy shares fell by 1.30 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust BPT, down 14 percent, and Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. GIFI, down 13 percent.

Top Headline

J C Penney Company Inc JCP reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and announced plans to close around 130-140 stores.

J C Penney said it plans to close two distribution facilities and shut about 130-140 stores over the next few months as the challenging retail environment is eating in to the sales of department store operators.

The announcement of planned store closures comes as the company reported an EPS beat for the fourth quarter, but sales fell short of consensus. JC Penney recorded a 0.7 percent drop in same-store sales for the holiday quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Cempra Inc CEMP shares shot up 44 percent to $4.53 after the company disclosed that fusidic acid achieved primary endpoint in Phase 3 study of ABSSSI.

Shares of RH RH got a boost, shooting up 27 percent to $32.10 after the company reported strong preliminary results for its fourth quarter. The company also announced a $300 million buyback plan.

Applied Optoelectronics Inc AAOI shares were also up, gaining 27 percent to $47.60 after reporting upbeat quarterly results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Nordic American Offshore Ltd. NAO shares dropped 39 percent to $1.245. Nordic American Offshore priced its upsized offering of 40 million shares at $1.25 per share.

Shares of FunctionX Inc FNCX were down around 23 percent to $0.990. FunctionX priced its 4.5 million share offering at $1.05 per share.

Acacia Communications, Inc. ACIA was down, falling around 14 percent to $54.34 after the company issued a weak forecast for the current quarter. However, the company’s Q4 results exceeded expectations.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.84 percent to $53.99 while gold traded up 0.53 percent to $1,258.00.

Silver traded up 1.18 percent Friday to $18.40, while copper rose 1.09 percent to $2.69.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.76 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.42 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.18 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 1.20 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.94 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.38 percent.

Economics

New home sales rose 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 555,000 in January. Economists were expecting a 570,000 annual pace.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 96.30 in February, versus a prior reading of 95.70. Economists projected a reading of 96.00.