Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed; GM Profit Beats Views

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.17 percent to 17,820.11 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.23 percent to 5,183.41. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.02 percent to 2,113.82.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday morning, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Ultra Clean Holdings Inc UCTT and SanDisk Corporation SNDK.
In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell by 1.20 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Empresa Distribuidora y Cmrz Nrt SA(ADR) EDN, down 4 percent, and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (ADR) ELP, off 3 percent.

Top Headline
General Motors Company GM reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter.
The company posted quarterly net income of $1.1 billion, or $0.67 per share, compared to $200 million, or $0.11 per share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time charges, GM’s earnings climbed to $1.29 per share from $0.58 per share.
Its revenue slipped to $38.2 billion from $39.6 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.08 per share on revenue of $40.62 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Flotek Industries Inc FTK shares shot up 38 percent to $17.68 on Q2 results. Flotek Industries reported a Q2 loss of $12.5 million.
Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. ASPS shares were also up, gaining 29 percent to $39.79 after the company reported Q2 results and announced its plans to acquire CastleLine Holdings.
Shares of SanDisk Corporation SNDK got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $64.05 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN
Select Comfort Corp. SCSS shares tumbled 6 percent to $26.94. Select Comfort reported Q2 earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $275 million.
Shares of Marcus Corp MCS were down 8 percent to $18.43 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q4 earnings.
QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM was down, falling 4 percent to $61.70. QUALCOMM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter. However, the company lowered its FY15 forecast. The company announced its plans to lower spending by around $1.4 billion and reduce its workforce by 15 percent. The company also reported that will review structural alternatives, including break-up of the company.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.41 percent to $49.39, while gold traded up 0.26 percent to $1,094.30.
Silver traded up 0.14 percent Thursday to $14.75, while copper fell 0.10 percent to $2.43.

Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.30 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.10 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.18 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.01 percent while UK shares rose 0.04 percent.

Economics
U.S. jobless claims slipped by 26,000 to 255,000 in the week ended July 18. However, economists were expecting initial claims to gain to 282,000.
The leading economic index climbed 0.6 percent in June, the Conference Board reported.
Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.