Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Ford Tops Q1 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.44 percent to 17,962.18 while the NASDAQ gained 0.08 percent to 4,866.85. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23 percent to 2,090.33.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Thursday, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market.

In trading on Thursday, financial shares fell by 0.81 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Ocwen Financial Corp (NYSE: OCN), down 21 percent, and American Equity Investment Life Holding (NYSE: AEL), down 12 percent.

Top Headline

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter on Thursday.

Ford said it earned $0.68 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $37.7 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.48 per share on revenue of $35.7 billion.

North America recorded a best quarter ever pre-tax profit of $3.1 billion, up $1.5 billion from a year ago with a record operating margin of 12.9 percent.

Equities Trading UP

National Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: NHLD) shares shot up 45 percent to $3.19 as Fortress Biotech Inc (NASDAQ: FBIO) announced plans to acquire National Holdings for $3.25 per share in cash.

Shares of Textura Corp (NYSE: TXTR) got a boost, shooting up 31 percent to $26.07 as the company agreed to be acquired by Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) for $26 per share. Textura reported Q1 earnings of $0.09 per share on revenue of $24.7 million.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) shares were also up, gaining 25 percent to $77.62 after Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire St. Jude for a total consideration of $25 billion.

Equities Trading DOWN

GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE: GNC) shares dropped 25 percent to $26.69 as the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings.

Shares of Ocwen Financial Corp (NYSE: OCN) were down 21 percent to $2.23. Ocwen Financial reported a quarterly loss of $0.90 per share on revenue of $330.8 million

Silicon Graphics International Corp (NASDAQ: SGI) was down, falling around 31 percent to $4.86. Silicon Graphics reported FQ3 adjusted earnings of $0.03 per share on revenue of $132.1 million. The company also lowered its FY16 forecast.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.02 percent to $45.34 while gold traded up 0.85 percent to $1,261.00.

Silver traded up 0.46 percent Thursday to $17.42, while copper fell 0.13 percent to $2.22.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 dropped 1.02 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 2.05 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 1.09 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 1.30 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.96 percent.

Economics

The U.S. economy expanded 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

U.S. jobless claims increased by 9,000 to 257,000 in the latest week.