Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Go Wild Following 3 Hour NASDAQ Halt

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.58 percent to 14,983.43 while the NASDAQ surged 1.07 percent to 3,638.44. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.99 percent to 1,658.93. Top Headline
Making headlines this afternoon was a market-wide freeze on trading on the NASDAQ. Shares were halted for over 3 hours without explanation starting at 12:20 pm EST, and re-opened for trade after 3pm EST. No official explanation has been given from the NASDAQ, but much speculation has pointed towards hacking and or HFT algorithms. For the latest updates, stay tuned to Benzinga.com. Equities Trading UP
GameStop GME shot up 9.47 percent to $52.12 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results and lifted its FY14 forecast. Shares of SunEdison SUNE got a boost, shooting up 16.45 percent to $7.94 after the company announced its plans to spin off its semiconductor business. The Hain Celestial Group HAIN was also up, gaining 10.82 percent to $80.79 on upbeat Q4 profit. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF were down 17.37 percent to $38.22 after the company reported weak fiscal second-quarter profit and issued a downbeat forecast for the third quarter. Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ shares tumbled 12.48 percent to $22.21 on FQ3 results. Sears Holdings SHLD was down, falling 8.09 percent to $39.75 after the company posted a wider fiscal second-quarter loss. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.04 percent to $105.00, while gold traded up 0.39 percent to $1,375.10. Silver traded up 0.63 percent Thursday to $23.16, while copper rose 0.83 percent to $3.34. Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index surged 1.98 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 2.56%. Meanwhile, the German DAX jumped 1.36 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.10 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.88 percent. Economics
US jobless claims rose by 13,000 to 336,000 in the week ended August 17. However, economists were projecting claims to increase to 330,000 in the week. US flash manufacturing PMI rose to 53.9 in August, versus a reading of 53.7 in July, according to Markit. US home prices rose 0.7% in June versus May, and climbed 7.7% y/y, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index declined to -28.80 for the week ended August 18, versus a prior reading of -26.60. The leading economic index increased 0.6% in July to 96.0, according to the Conference Board. However, economists were expecting a 0.5% rise. US natural gas supplies rose 57 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 16, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a rise between 67 billion cubic feet and 71 billion cubic feet. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing Index surged to 8.00 in August, from a reading of 6.00 in July. However, economists were expecting a reading of 6.00. Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.