Benzinga Mid-Afternoon Market Update

Towards the end of trading Thursday, the Dow was up 0.29 percent to 13,345.26 while the NASDAQ rose 0.08 percent to 3,054.09. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.18 percent to 1,435.20.Equities Trading UpClearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) continued to surge, trading up 54.62 percent to $2.01 in early trading following news of a possible Sprint Acquisition.Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) slowed its rally, trading up 13.10 percent to $5.70 after word got out that Japan's Softbank was in advanced acquisition talks with the company.Shares of Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) were also up, increasing 11.47 percent to $29.93 after Carl Icahn announced a tender offer for the company.Equities Trading DOWNCantel Medical (NYSE: CMN) fell 11.19 percent to $24.64 late in trading Thursday after the company posted an earnings miss before the market opening.Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) was also down, dropping 7.40 percent to $43.44 after the company lowered its sales guidance Thursday.Shares of Stillwater Mining (NYSE: SWC) continued to decline as well, falling 11.30 percent to $10.75 after the company announced a $300 million offering of senior notes after the market opening Thursday.CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 1.07 percent to $92.23, while gold traded up 0.23 percent to $1,769.20.Silver traded down 0.10 percent Thursday to $34.01.EurozoneThe Eurozone produced more chatter today, as Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban spoke about the country's coming economic turn around, and possible membership in the EU.Spain's Saenz pushed back at the EU, saying that if Spain knew what aid was available, the country could better decide if and when to request it, while Germany's Angela Merkel made comments stating that the coming EU summit will be focused on regaining trust in the Euro area.EconomicsIn economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 339 thousand, below the expected 370 thousand and the previous figure of 369 thousand. Continuing jobless claims were posted at 3.273 million, slightly below the expected 3.275 million and the previously reported 3.288 thousand.The import price index month over month was also reported, coming in at 1.1 percent, above the expected 0.7 percent, and equal to the prior number, while the import price index year over year was reported at -0.6 percent, better than the estimated -1.3 percent, and above the previous figure of -1.9 percent. Trade balance came in at -$44.2 billion, slightly lower than the estimated $44 billion and the prior figure of -$42.5 billion.The Bloomberg consumer comfort index came in at -38.5, below the previously reported -36.9.The Federal Reserve's Plosser made some comments Thursday, saying he does not support QE3 and believes asset purchases will not lead to growth. He went on to say that central banks should avoid allocating credit, and that the Fed may need to tighten its policy well before mid 2015.