Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Michaels Companies Issues Weak Forecast

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.44 percent to 25,312.25 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.71 percent to 7,750.13. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.44 percent to 2,787.90.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday morning, the consumer discretionary shares surged 0.94 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included LiveXLive Media, Inc. LIVX up 10 percent, and Duluth Holdings Inc. DLTH up 6 percent.

In trading on Thursday, financial shares fell 0.23 percent.

Top Headline

Michaels Companies Inc MIK reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak forecast for the second quarter.

Michaels posted quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share on revenue of $1.156 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $1.151 billion. Its same-store sales rose 0.4 percent during the quarter.

Michaels Companies expects Q2 earnings of $0.12 to $0.14 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $0.19 per share. The company projects Q2 same-store sales to be about flat.

Equities Trading UP

Etsy, Inc. ETSY shares shot up 29 percent to $42.45 after the company announced increase in transaction fees and raised FY18 sales outlook.

Shares of Teligent, Inc. TLGT got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $3.5718 trading after the company disclosed that it has received FDA approval for its abbreviated new drug application for diflorasone diacetate ointment 0.05 percent, a high-potency corticosteriod used to treat a variety of skin conditions.

Destination Maternity Corporation DEST shares were also up, gaining 28 percent to $4.43 following Q1 results. Destination Maternity posted Q1 earnings of $0.07 per share on sales of $103.227 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Tailored Brands, Inc. TLRD shares dropped 22 percent to $25.98. Tailored Brands reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Comps were up 2.1 percent in the quarter.

Shares of Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SNOA were down 21 percent to $3.18 after reporting a fourth-quarter earnings and sales miss.

Michaels Companies, Inc. MIK was down, falling around 15 percent to $18.57. Michaels reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak forecast for the second quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.65 percent to $67.07 while gold traded up 0.84 percent to $1,312.20.

Silver traded up 1.64 percent Thursday to $17.27, while copper fell 0.71 to $3.231.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.22 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.16 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.21 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.33 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.61 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.21 percent.

Economics

U.S. initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 218,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting a 223,000 reading.

U.S. retail sales increased 0.8 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4 percent rise.

U.S. import prices rose 0.6 percent for May, while export prices increased 0.6 percent in May.

U.S. business inventories rose 0.3 percent for May, versus economists’ estimates of 0.3 percent gain.

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.