Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Surges 200 Points; SMART Global Shares Jump On Strong Guidance

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.86 percent to 23,471.49 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.38 percent to 6,798.83. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.89 percent to 2,587.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday afternoon, the cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Griffon Corporation GFF and Iconix Brand Group Inc ICON.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.18 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included PrimeEnergy Corporation PNRG, down 8 percent, and Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. ANW down 3 percent.


Top Headline

Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and lifted its full-year earnings forecast.

Wal-Mart posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $1 per share on revenue of $123.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.97 per share on revenue of $121 billion. Comparable store sales rose 2.7 percent in the quarter.

It now projects full-year earnings of $4.38 to $4.46, versus its prior forecast of $4.30 to $4.40 per share.


Equities Trading UP

China Advanced Constructn Mtrls Grp Inc CADC shares shot up 225 percent to $7.15 after gaining 2.33 percent on Wednesday.

Shares of Smart Global Holdings Inc SGH got a boost, shooting up 29 percent to $36.98 after the company issued strong guidance. The company updated Q1 guidance, raising adjusted EPS from 79 cents-83 cents to 90 cents-93 cents. Sales guidance was raised from $225 million-$240 million to $250 million-$260 million.

RH RH shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $104.70 after the company increased its outlook for third quarter and fiscal 2017.


Equities Trading DOWN

Intec Pharma Ltd NTEC shares dropped 25 percent to $5.57. Intec Pharma reported a Q3 loss of $0.29 per share.

Shares of Diplomat Pharmacy Inc DPLO were down 23 percent to $14.71. Diplomat Pharmacy agreed to buy LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services. Baird downgraded Diplomat Pharmacy from Outperform to Neutral.

AxoGen, Inc. AXGN was down, falling around 10 percent to $22.42. AxoGen reported a proposed public offering of common stock.


Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 0.36 percent to $55.13 while gold traded up 0.21 percent to $1,280.40.

Silver traded up 0.73 percent Thursday to $17.095, while copper fell 0.39 percent to $3.065.


Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.78 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.75 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.22 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.55 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.66 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.19 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims gained 10,000 to 249,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 235,000 last week.

The Philly Fed manufacturing index dropped to 18.90 in November, versus prior reading of 27.90. Economists projected a reading of 25.00.

The import price index increased 0.2 percent for October, while export price index was flat.

U.S. industrial production rose 0.9 percent for October, beating economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent gain.

The NAHB housing market index gained two points to 70 in November. Economists expected a reading of 67.

Domestic supplies of natural gas declined 18 billion cubic feet for the week ended November 10, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts expected a drop of 14 billion cubic feet.

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Afternoon Market Update
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...