Mid-Afternoon Market Update: General Mills Tumbles On Downbeat Earnings; Barnes & Noble Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.26 percent to 16,862.47 while the NASDAQ surged 0.60 percent to 4,376.60. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.44 percent to 1,958.52.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Medical Action Industries MDCI, up 93.5 percent, and StemCells STEM, up 11.9 percent.

Financial shares fell around 0.08 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top decliners in the sector included Bank of America BAC, JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM, and Wells Fargo & Company WFC.

Top Headline

Monsanto Co MON reported upbeat fiscal third-quarter profit and lifted its full-year forecast. The company also announced a $10 billion share buyback program.

Monsanto’s quarterly net profit fell to $858 million, or $1.62 per share, from a year-ago profit of $909 million, or $1.68 per share.

Its sales rose to $4.250 billion from $4.248 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.54 per share on sales of $4.385 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Aerie Pharmaceuticals AERI shares shot up 29.15 percent to $27.28 following the announcement that Roclatan phase 2b results have met all clinical endpoints.

Shares of Hanesbrands HBI got a boost, shooting up 8.64 percent to $96.19 after the company announced its plans to buy France's DBApparel.

Barnes & Noble BKS shares were also up, gaining 2.72 percent to $21.12 after the company reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss and announced its plans to split its retail and Nook Media businesses.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of CVR Refining LP CVRR were 7.18 percent to $25.19 following the announcement of 6 million common unit offering.

Team TISI shares tumbled 0.56 percent to $38.84 after the company reported downbeat fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings. Team posted its quarterly earnings of $0.60 per share on revenue of $211 million. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.71 per share on revenue of $218.5 million.

General Mills GIS was down, falling 3.22 percent to $51.97 after the company reported a weaker-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.08 percent to $106.12, while gold traded down 0.02 percent to $1,321.10.

Silver traded down 0.01 percent Wednesday to $21.09, while copper rose 0.41 percent to $3.16.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 1.04 percent, the Spanish IBEX Index dropped 1.25 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.80 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.71 percent and the French CAC 40 tumbled 1.28 percent while UK shares slipped 0.70 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 1% in the week ended June 20.

Orders for durable goods dropped 1% in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.5% decline.

The US economy contracted by an annual pace of 2.9% in the first quarter, versus a prior reading of 1%. However, economists were expecting a 1.8% drop.

Crude stockpiles gained 1.7 million barrels for the week ended June 20, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 2 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased 1.2 million barrels.