Mid-Day Market Update: Thursday's Market Movers; US GDP Rises, China's Stocks Jump

The United States Gross Domestic Product increased at a faster-than-expected rate of 3.7 percent in the second quarter. The rise was led by business inventories, investments, and government/consumer spending as a whole.

The GDP increased to 3.7 percent from a 2.3 percent rise in quarter one; economists had expected a growth rate of 3.3 percent in quarter two. Government spending was lifted 2.6 percent, US exports grew 5.2 percent in Q2 and imports grew 2.8 percent. The Labor Department reported that US jobless claims fell by 6,000 to an adjusted 271,000. Following the better-than-expected growth rates, the US Treasury bonds were lowered.

The US markets opened higher in Thursday’s open after China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index jumped 5.34 percent on Thursday:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Index: Up 1.58 percent
• The S&P 500 Index: Up 1.75 percent
• NASDAQ Composite: Up 1.79 percent
• The US Dollar Index: Up 0.15 percent
• Crude Oil WTI: Up 4.48 percent

Amazon.com Inc AMZN will be laying off some of its employees as it is reducing its efforts in developing consumer devices, such as the company’s attempt at a smartphone.

Thursday’s Winners:
Peabody Energy Corporation BTU skyrocketed 52 percent after the coal company hired a bank (Lazard) to restructure the company’s debt and its short covering.

NQ Mobile Inc NQ soared 34 percent on a potential $708 million asset sale.

LookSmart Ltd LOOK spiked 33 percent after Newtek Technology Services entered into a 39-month contract with LookSmart.

McDermott International Inc MDR was lifted 28 percent after the announcement that the company had agreed to a service contract (long-term) with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest gas/oil company.

Sky Solar Holdings Ltd SKYS was up 20 percent after the company beat earnings by $0.19 per share. The company reported earnings of $0.18 per share on sales of $12.6 million.

Thursday’s Losers:
1-800-Flowers.com Inc FLWS dwindled 12 percent after the company reported a loss of $10.7 million, after profiting in the same period last year.

Asia Pacific Wire & Cable APWC declined 12 percent after the company reported first half revenues of $189 million, down from $222.3 million in the first half of 2014. The holding company also reported that gross profits for the first half of 2015 declined 40.2 percent from a year ago.

Fred’s Inc FRED was down 7 percent after the company reported a Q2 loss of $4.9 million. The company had a loss of $0.13 per share, while analysts were expecting a loss of only $0.06 per share.