Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Drop; Dollar General Earnings Top Views

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.47 percent to 17,646.47 while the NASDAQ dipped 0.33 percent to 5,106.37. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.49 percent to 2,069.33.

In trading on Thursday, energy shares rose by 0.15 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 6 percent, and

, up 5 percent. Utilities shares tumbled by 0.42 percent in the US market on Thursday. Top losers in the sector included

,

, and

.

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter on Thursday. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company posted quarterly net income of $253.3 million, or $0.86 per share, versus $236.3 million, or $0.78 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.88 per share. Its sales climbed 7.3 percent to $5.07 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.77 per share on revenue of $5.09 billion.

shares shot up 12 percent to $37.31 after the company reported the early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $144.00 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter.

shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $2.32. New York & Company reported a Q3 loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $219.8 million.

shares tumbled 13 percent to $40.33 after the company reported downbeat Q3 results and lowered its FY16 forecast. Shares of

were down 11 percent to $11.05. Titan Machinery reported Q3 earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $345 million.

was down, falling 8 percent to $57.43 after the company reported downbeat Q4 results.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.03 percent to $40.35, while gold traded down 0.01 percent to $1,053.70. Silver traded down 0.14 percent Thursday to $13.99, while copper rose 0.30 percent to $2.04.

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 2.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 1.64 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dipped 1.53 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 2.83 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 2.36 percent, while U.K. shares fell 1.31 percent.

Initial jobless claims increased 9,000 to 269,000 in the week ended November 28. US factory orders rose 1.50 percent in October, versus economists' expectations for a 1.40 percent growth. The ISM non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 55.90 in November, versus a previous reading of 59.10. However, economists were expecting a reading of 58.00.