Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Burlington Stores Gains On Strong Results; Dollar General Shares Slip

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.80 percent to 16,415.38 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.03 percent to 4,745.97. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.98 percent to 1,959.58.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Peabody Energy Corporation BTU, up 39 percent, and Linn Energy LLC LINE, up 34 percent.

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by just 0.4 percent in Thursday’s trading. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated COKE, down 5 percent, and SpartanNash Co SPTN, off 5 percent.

Top Headline

Tiffany & Co. TIF reported weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter and issued a weak forecast.

The New York-based company reported quarterly net earnings of $104.9 million, or $0.81 per share, compared to $124.1 million, or $0.96 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company’s earnings slipped 10 percent to $0.86 per share.

Worldwide net sales slipped to $990.5 million from $992.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91 per share on revenue of $1.00 billion.

Equities Trading UP

NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) NQ shares shot up 37 percent to $4.16. NQ Mobile reported upbeat quarter earnings, and announced agreements to sell NationSky and FL Mobile.

Shares of McDermott International MDR got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $4.41 after the company reported that it has been awarded a lump sum contract by Saudi Aramco for brownfield work in various fields offshore Saudi Arabia.

Burlington Stores Inc BURL shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $53.22 after the company reported upbeat results for the second quarter and lifted its full-year earnings forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

1-800-Flowers.Com Inc FLWS shares tumbled 15 percent to $8.18. 1-800-Flowers reported a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.13 per share on revenue of $228.3 million.

Shares of Dollar General Corp. DG were down 5 percent to $72.85. Dollar General reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, but the company’s sales missed analysts’ estimates.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM was down, falling 9 percent to $75.81. Williams-Sonoma reported in-line earnings for the second quarter. However, the company issued a weak forecast.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 8.76 percent to $41.98, while gold traded down 0.14 percent to $1,123.00.

Silver traded up 2.36 percent Thursday to $14.41, while copper rose 3.83 percent to $2.32.

Euro zone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 3.46 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 3.06 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 3.39 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 3.18 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 3.49 percent while UK shares rose 3.56 percent.

Economics

US jobless claims slipped 6,000 to 271,000 in the week ended August 22. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 270,000.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the second quarter. However, economists were expecting gross domestic product to increase to 3.3 percent in the quarter.

The pending home sales index increased 0.5 percent in July, versus economists’ expectations for a 1 percent growth.

Supplies of natural gas climbed 69 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 21, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 58 billion cubic feet to 62 billion cubic feet.

The Kansas City Fed composite index declined to a reading of -9.00 in August, versus a prior reading of -7.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of -4.00.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsGuidanceEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesContractsM&AGlobalEconomicsIntraday UpdateMarketsMoversEnergyOil & Gas Exploration & Production
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