Dow Posts Triple-Digit Point Gain; S&P 500 And Nasdaq Also Higher As Global Concerns Calm - APA (NASDAQ:APA), AMC Enter Hldgs (NYSE:AMC)

U.S. stocks gained as geopolitical tension eased as the Nasdaq finished the day at a 14-year high. Russia stated that it settled a dispute over a humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine while a five hour meeting between officials of both countries may have brought about moderate progress. In Iraq, Iraqi and Kurdish troops appear to have reclaimed control of the Mosul Dam following support in the form of heavy U.S. airstrikes over the weekend. On the domestic front, the market may have also received a boost from a rising homebuilder confidence.

Recommended: Noncommittal Bulls, Lazy Bears: Options Outlook For The Week Of August 18 The Dow gained 1.06 percent, closing at 16,838.74. The S&P 500 gained 0.85 percent, closing at 1,971.74. The Nasdaq gained 0.97 percent, closing at 4,508.31. Gold lost 0.46 percent, trading at $1,298.70 an ounce. Oil lost 0.92 percent, trading at $96.45 a barrel. Silver gained 0.33 percent, trading at $19.56 an ounce.
News of Note
August NAHB Housing Market Index rose to 55 from 53 in July. Under the European Central Banks' targeted long-term financing operations, many eurozone banks are expected to borrow 250 billion euros under cheap four-year terms.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades of Note
Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded CNOOC CEO to Neutral from Underperform. Shares gained 5.27 percent, closing at $198.79. Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Columbia Sportswear COLM to Buy from Neutral with a price target raised to $92 from a previous $82. shares gained 4.51 percent, closing at $77.62. Analysts at Sterne Agee upgraded Dollar General DG to Buy from Neutral with a price target raised to $76 from a previous $58. Also, analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Dollar General to Buy from Hold with a price target raised to $69 from a previous $60. Shares gained 11.63 percent, closing at $64.14. Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Dollar Tree DLTR to Buy from Neutral with a $71 price target. Shares lost 2.42 percent, closing at $54.26. Analysts at JPMorgan upgraded E-Commerce China Dangdang DANG to Neutral from Underweight with a price target raised to $15 from a previous $7.50. Shares gained 3.73 percent, closing at $15.03. Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Buy rating on Estee Lauder EL with a price target raised to $87 from a previous $81. Shares gained 0.83 percent, closing at $76.79. Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded InvenSense INVN to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged $25 price target. Shares lost 0.94 percent, closing at $24.75. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on Lumber Liquidator LL with a price target lowered to $77 from a previous $84. Shares gained 3.94 percent, closing at $57.44. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Monster Beverage MNST to Hold from Buy with a price target raised to $95 from a previous $80. Meanwhile, analysts at Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating on Monster Beverage with a price target raised to $98 from a previous $82. At the same time, analysts at UBS maintained a Neutral rating on Monster Beverage with a price target raised to $96 from a previous $72. Shares lost 5.40 percent, closing at $88.44. Analysts at Credit Suisse initiated coverage of SeaWorld Entertainment SEAS with an Outperform rating and $23 price target. Shares gained 1.29 percent, closing at $18.90. Recommended: Golfing Is Lost In The Shuffle As Millennials Follow Different Course Analysts at Wunderlich maintained a Buy rating on Time Warner TWX with a price target raised to $93 from a previous $83. Shares gained 0.47 percent, closing at $76.86. Analysts at JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on Vale VALE with a price target raised to $20.50 from a previous $19.50. Shares gained 0.73 percent, closing at $13.81.
Equities-Specific News of Note
Apache APA announced it discovered as much as 300 million barrels of crude oil at an exploration site near Western Australia. shares gained 0.18 percent, closing at $98.50. BlackBerry BBRY appointed Dr. Sandeep Chennakeshu as President of a new unit named BlackBerry Technology Solutions or BTS. The new unit will consist of the company's innovative technology assets and patent portfolio. Shares gained 1.72 percent, closing at $9.76. Advent International disclosed a 14.8 percent stake in Lululemon LULU and plans to play a role in determining the slate of new directors. Shares gained 1.09 percent, closing at $38.79. Ingersoll-Rand IR announced that it will acquire Cameron International's CAM centrifugal compression unit for $850 million. Shares of Ingersoll-Rand gained 2.69 percent, closing at $62.18 while shares of Cameron International lost 0.74 percent, closing at $72.09. Jana Partners disclosed that it received an anonymous package suspected to come from PetSmart PETM which included statements that the company missed its internal projects. Shares lost 0.09 percent, closing at $68.44. AMC Entertainment AMC and IMAX IMAX formed a new agreement covering 11 new IMAX theaters scheduled for 2015. The new deal brings the total commitment by AMC Entertainment to IMAX to 159 theaters. Shares of AMC gained 1.43 percent, closing at $23.43 while shares of IMAX gained 2.03 percent, closing at $27.18. Recommended: 6 Of The Most Successful Fast-Food Campaigns Of All Time According to Bloomberg, BHP Billiton BHP may spin off as much as $12 billion of assets as soon as this week. Shares gained 0.43 percent, closing at $72.76. According to Reuters, Procter & Gamble PG has began the process of shedding off some of its brands and hired Goldman Sachs advisers to assist with the process. The company may unload its Duracell and Braun business, among others, with a final objective of only carrying forward 70 to 80 brands. Shares gained 0.81 percent, closing at $82.44.
Winners of Note
Dollar General DG presented a $9.7 billion or $78.50 offer to acquire Family Dollar. FDO The new deal to acquire Family Dollar is $4 per share higher than Dollar Tree's DLTR offer. Family Dollar confirmed it received the offer from Dollar General and stated that it will begin to review the deal in detail. Shares of Dollar General gained 11.63 percent, closing at $64.14 while shares of Family Dollar hit new 52-week highs of $80.90 before closing the day at $79.81. Meanwhile, shares of Dollar Tree lost 2.42 percent, closing at $54.26. According to The Guardian, Apple's iPhone 6 will feature a sapphire cover glass and production is expected to go into a large-scale production this morning. The sapphire production will come from GT Advanced Technologies GTAT facility in Arizona which will manufacture sapphire for both a 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch phone. Shares of GT Advanced gained 5.01 percent, closing at $18.23. Sensata Technologies ST has agreed to acquire the Schrader group of companies from Madison Dearborn Partners for $1 billion. Sensata Technologies expects the deal will dilute its earnings by $0.13 to $0.16 per share this year but add $0.18 to $0.21 in earnings per share next year. Shares of Sensata Technologies hit new 52-week highs of $49.24 before closing the day at $48.84, up 5.78 percent. Lannet Company LCI preannounced its fourth quarter results this morning. The company stated that it expects its fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings per share to be in a range of $0.60 to $0.64 on revenues of approximately $81 million. Fiscal 2014 non-GAAP earnings per share is expected to be in a range of $1.94 to $1.98 on revenues of approximately $274 million. Lannet will report its fourth quarter results August 27 after market close. Shares gained 6.60 percent, closing at $40.40. Kandi Technologies KNDI announced that it delivered 208 electric vehicles as it launched a Shanghai car-sharing program. Shares gained 6.43 percent, closing at $18.87.
Decliners of Note
Fabrinet FN disclosed that its audit committee began an internal investigation over accounting issues discovered by management. The company's results were scheduled to be announced today after market close but are currently postponed until further notice . Shares lost 18.14 percent, closing at $14.53.
Earnings of Note
This morning, JinkoSolar Holding JKS reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.80, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82. Revenue of RMB2.4 billion ($392.1 million) missed the consensus estimate of $392.93 million. Net income for the quarter rose to RMB138.2 million ($22.3 million) from RMB49.0 million in the same quarter a year ago as total solar product shipments rose 34.8 percent from a year ago and amounted to 658.5 MW. The company's total solar shipments consisted of 579.8 MW of solar modules, 54.1 MW of silicon wafers and 34.6 MW of solar cells. JinkoSolar issued guidance and expects its total solar module shipments in the third quarter to be 800 MW to 850 MW and for the full fiscal year the company estimates its total solar module shipments will be in the range of 2.9 GW to 3.2 GW. Shares lost 1.58 percent, closing at $27.38. Recommended: Earnings Expectations For The Week Of August 18: More Retail Earnings After the market closed, Urban Outfitters URBN reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $0.49, in-line with the consensus estimate of. Revenue of $811.0 million beat the consensus estimate of $807.45 million. Shares were trading at $36.36, down 1.52 percent following the earnings release.
Quote of the Day
“Today's actions prove once again (as Charlie Gasparino tweeted this morning), the relevance of activism. Even as cynical as I am about the dysfunction of so many boards, I find it hard to believe that before agreeing to a $305 million breakup fee to Dollar Tree (which was obviously designed to chill other bidders), Family Dollar wouldn't first be absolutely sure Dollar General wasn't interested in bidding. Could the fact that Family Dollar's CEO, Howard Levine, has a future role in a Dollar Tree/Family Dollar merger have anything to do with it? Dreiling stated that for several years he's been trying to enter discussions with Family Dollar and it seems obvious that in a Dollar General/Family Dollar merger, Levine would not have any future role. How far will crony Boards go (and get away with it legally) to protect the CEO at the expense of shareholders? At too many companies in America the hubris of the CEO, supported by a crony Board, costs shareholders billions of dollars, and worse, it costs our economy even more.” – Carl Icahn in a statement concerning Dollar General's bid for Family Dollar.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs