Mid-Day Market Update: Dillard's Shares Jump On Upbeat Profit, Renren Tumbles

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.14 percent to 15,162.21 while the NASDAQ declined 1.33 percent to 3,620.54. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.13 percent to 1,666.35.

Top Headline
Wal-Mart Stores WMT reported a rise in its fiscal second-quarter profit and lowered its full year earnings forecast. Wal-Mart now estimates full year earnings of $5.10 to $5.30 per share, versus its earlier outlook of as much as $5.40 per share. It expects Q3 profit of $1.11 to $1.16 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.17 per share. Wal-Mart's quarterly profit surged to $4.07 billion, or $1.24 per share, from $4.02 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, Wal-Mart earned $1.25 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.25 per share. Its revenue increased 2.3 percent to $116.9 billion from $114.3 billion, while same-store sales dropped 0.3 percent.

Equities Trading UP
Volterra Semiconductor VLTR shot up 54.05 percent to $22.80 after the company agreed to be acquired by Maxim Integrated MXIM for $23 per share. Shares of Dillard's DDS got a boost, shooting up 7.19 percent to $84.64 after the company reported upbeat second-quarter profit. Kohl's KSS was also up, gaining 5.07 percent to $53.42 on Q2 results.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Renren RENN were down 9.79 percent to $3.79 on Q2 results. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock from Hold to Underperform. E-Commerce China Dangdang DANG shares tumbled 8.49 percent to $9.40 after the company posted a Q2 net Loss of RMB 63.9 million ($10.4 million). Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation SWHC was down, falling 6.73 percent to $11.36 after KeyBanc downgraded the stock from Hold to Underweight.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.74 percent to $107.64, while gold traded down 0.34 percent to $1,328.80. Silver traded up 0.43 percent Thursday to $21.88, while copper fell 0.73 percent to $3.32.

Eurozone
European shares were lower on weak sentiment from Asia and some poor earnings reports while Italy's market was closed. The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.66 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.74 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.51 percent while U.K. shares fell 1.57 percent.

Economics
US jobless claims declined 15,000 to 320,000 in the week ended August 10. However, economists were projecting claims to total 333,000 in the recent week. US consumer prices increased 0.2 percent in July, while the core CPI gained 0.2%. The Empire State manufacturing index declined to 8.2 in August, versus 9.5 in July. However, economists were expecting a reading of 9.5 in the month. Industrial production came in flat in July, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent growth. The Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index declined to -26.60 for the week ended August 11, versus a prior reading of -23.50. The NAHB housing market index increased 3 points to a reading of 59 in August. Economists were expecting a reading of 57. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index dropped to 9.30 in August, versus a prior reading of 19.80. However, economists were estimating a reading of 15.00. Natural gas supplies rose 65 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 9, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting an increase between 68 billion cubic feet and 72 billion cubic feet. Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.