Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Philip Morris Shares Fall Following Q1 Results

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.04 percent to 24,758.25 while the NASDAQ declined 0.33 percent to 7,271.07. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23 percent to 2,702.53.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday morning, the financial shares climbed 0.81 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included American Express Company AXP, up 6 percent, and Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. TCBI, up 7 percent.

In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares fell 2.78 percent.


Top Headline

Philip Morris International Inc. PM shares fell around 15 percent after the company reported better-than-expected profit for its first quarter, while revenue missed estimates.

The company said it earned $1 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $6.9 billion versus expectations of $0.90 per share on revenue of $6.99 billion.

Philip Morris raised its FY18 earnings outlook from $5.20-$5.35 per share to $5.25-$5.40 per share.


Equities Trading UP

OpGen, Inc. OPGN shares shot up 15 percent to $2.41. OpGen completed rapid testing clinical trial in Colombia and expanded international operations.

Shares of Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. TTS got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $6.20 after the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings.

Sientra, Inc. SIEN shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $12.03 following the announcement of FDA approval for PMA supplement.


Equities Trading DOWN

Aceto Corporation ACET shares dropped 60 percent to $2.985 following announcement of financial challenges. The company has suspended further guidance and is evaluating strategic alternatives. Aceto also expects reduction in dividend moving forward. Canaccord Genuity downgraded Aceto from Buy to Sell.

Shares of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. HMNY were down 40 percent to $2.29 after pricing public share offering.

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. SHOS was down, falling around 29 percent to $2.30. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores reported a Q4 loss of $1.46 per share on revenue of $395.77 million.


Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.16 percent to $68.58 while gold traded down 0.21 percent to $1,350.70.

Silver traded up 0.42 percent Thursday to $17.32, while copper fell 1.10 percent to $3.1465.


Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.05 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.01 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.14 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.30 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.04 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.10 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims declined 1,000 to 232,000 for the latest week.

The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index rose 1 point to a reading of 23.2 for April.

The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent for March.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Pittsburgh at 6:45 p.m. ET.

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Morning Market Update
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