Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Flat; American Eagle Profit Misses Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.06 percent to 24,166.50 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.01 percent to 6,762.79. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.02 percent to 2,628.92.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday morning, the information technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Moxian Inc MOXC and First Solar, Inc. FSLR.

In trading on Wednesday, consumer discretionary shares fell 0.02 percent.

Top Headline

American Eagle Outfitters AEO reported downbeat earnings for its third quarter, but issued a strong earnings forecast for the current quarter.

American Eagle posted quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $960 million. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $960.8 million.

American Eagle expects Q4 earnings of $0.42 to $0.44 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $0.39 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc MDGL shares shot up 104 percent to $94.45 after the company disclosed that its MGL-3196 achieved primary endpoint in patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in Phase 2 clinical trial.

Shares of Cleantech Solutions International, Inc. CLNT got a boost, shooting up 36 percent to $7.23 after announcing agreement to acquire 51 percent of Brighten Holdings.

AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV shares were also up, gaining 32 percent to $57.10 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Tuesday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cherokee Inc CHKE shares dropped 25 percent to $2.20 following Q3 results. Cherokee reported Q3 adjusted loss of $0.05 per share on sales of $11.0 million.

Shares of Tronox Ltd TROX were down 24 percent to $19.53. The FTC has challenged Tronox acquisition of Cristal’s titanium dioxide business, according to Reuters.

Fred's, Inc. FRED was down, falling around 21 percent to $4.00. Fred's reported downbeat Q3 results and cancelled its dividend.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.27 percent to $56.89 while gold traded up 0.42 percent to $1,270.20.

Silver traded up 0.29 percent Wednesday to $16.115, while copper rose 0.81 percent to $2.97.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.53 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.68 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.44 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.94 percent, and the French CAC 40 dipped 0.55 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.12 percent.

Economics

Private-sector employers added 190,000 jobs for November, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 185,000 private jobs.

U.S. nonfarm productivity rose 3 percent for the third quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 3.3 percent growth. Unit labor costs declined 0.2 percent for the quarter.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.