Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Michaels Tops Q4 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.02 percent to 17,322.16 while the NASDAQ declined 0.35 percent to 4,747.42. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.14 percent to 2,024.33.

On Thursday, basic materials shares rose by 1.26 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares dipped by 0.82 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 7 percent, and

, down 7 percent.

reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Michaels Companies posted quarterly earnings of $183.7 million, or $0.87 per share, compared to $146.4 million, or $0.75 per share, in the year-ago period. Its sales rose 4.6 percent to $1.68 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.84 per share on revenue of $1.65 billion. .

shares shot up 99 percent to $8.19 on positive psoriasis data. The surge was driven by news about the company's experimental psoriasis drug. Top-line results from its Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial of VTP-43742 in psoriatic patients showed a reduction in the skin condition of the treated patients. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 35 percent to $31.00 as

announced its plans to buy Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc in a deal valued at around $942 million.

shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $157.19 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday.

shares dropped 24 percent to $3.19 as the company reported the pricing of $6.7 million registered direct offering for $3.10 per share. Shares of

were down 18 percent to $3.02 as the company priced 21 million share offering at $3 per share.

was down, falling around 14 percent to $18.34 after the company reported downbeat earnings for the fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.90 percent to $39.19, while gold traded up 3.03 percent to $1,267.10. Silver traded up 3.49 percent Thursday to $15.75, while copper rose 1.90 percent to $2.28.

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 dropped 1.04 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.94 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 1.48 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 1.67 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 1.29 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.36 percent.

U.S. jobless claims increased 7,000 to 265,000 in the second week of March. However, economists were estimating claims to reach 268,000 in the week. The U.S. current-account deficit declined 3.6 percent to $125.3 billion in the fourth quarter. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index climbed to 12.40 in March, versus a prior reading of -2.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of -1.70. The Consumer Board's leading economic index rose 0.10 percent for February, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent growth.