Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Tumble; Accenture Tops Q4 Estimates

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.21 percent to 16,082.80 while the NASDAQ slipped 1.06 percent to 4,702.35. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.01 percent to 1,919.10.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Thursday, utilities shares gained by 0.01 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Black Hills Corp BKH, up 1 percent, and Genie Energy Ltd GNE, up 1 percent.

In trading on Thursday, industrials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.50 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Caterpillar Inc. CAT, down 7 percent, and Mattson Technology, Inc. MTSN, off 5 percent.

Top Headline

Accenture Plc ACN reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter. However, the company issued a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter.

The Dublin, Ireland-based company reported quarterly earnings of $737.6 million, or $1.15 per share, compared to $701 million, or $1.08 per share, in the year-ago period.

Its net revenue rose 1.4 percent to $7.89 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.12 per share on revenue of $7.68 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Arrowhead Research Corp ARWR shares shot up 25 percent to $8.44 following announcement of results of ARC-520 Hep B study.

Shares of Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc CNAT got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $6.42 after the company reported top-line results from Multicenter Phase 2 Portal Hypertension clinical trial in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals KERX shares were also up, gaining 8 percent to $4.22 following announcement of the EU approval for Fexericx for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in adults with chronic kidney disease.

Equities Trading DOWN

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. GILT shares tumbled 13 percent to $3.42 after the company lowered its FY15 outlook.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT were down 6 percent to $65.76 following restructuring news and concerning outlook. Cat lowered its FY15 sales outlook from $49 billion to $48 billion and announced its plans to permanently reduce workforce by 4,000 to 5,000 employees.

KB Home KBH was down, falling 3 percent to $14.01. KB Home reported upbeat results for its fiscal third quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.49 percent to $44.26, while gold traded up 1.50 percent to $1,148.50.

Silver traded up 1.29 percent Thursday to $14.98, while copper fell 0.30 percent to $2.29.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 1.95 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 1.72 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.69 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 2.11 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 2.04 percent, while U.K. shares fell 1.02 percent.

Economics

US durable goods orders declined 2 percent in August, versus economists’ expectations for a 2 percent drop.

U.S. jobless claims rose 3,000 to 267,000 in the week ended September 19. However, economists were expecting claims to increase to 271,000.

Sales of new U.S. homes gained 5.7 percent to an annual rate of 552,000 in August. However, economists were expecting sales to total 515,000.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesGlobalEcon #sIntraday UpdateMarketsMovers
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