Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Up 75 Points; Lululemon Shares Surge On Earnings Beat

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.39 percent to 19,626.21 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.21 percent to 5,405.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.18 percent to 2,245.32.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday afternoon, financial shares gained by 0.74 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Walter Investment Management Corp WAC, and Republic First Bancorp, Inc. FRBK.

In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares fell by 0.20 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Horizon Pharma PLC HZNP, down 20 percent, and Insys Therapeutics Inc INSY, down 17 percent.

Top Headline

Ciena Corporation CIEN posted downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.

Ciena posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share on revenue of $716.2 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $716.5 million.

Equities Trading UP

Tailored Brands Inc TLRD shares shot up 37 percent to $25.95 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Wednesday.

Shares of Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU got a boost, shooting up 15 percent to $68.99 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and announced a $100 million stock buyback plan.

Ciena Corporation CIEN shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $24.57. Ciena posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share on revenue of $716.2 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Comtech Telecomm. Corp. CMTL shares dropped 21 percent to $ 0.13. Comtech reported Q1 GAAP loss of $0.11 per share on revenue of $135.8 million.

Shares of OHR Pharmaceutical Inc OHRP were down 23 percent to $1.95 after the company reported a proposed public offering of common stock and warrants.

Horizon Pharma PLC HZNP was down, falling around 20 percent to $15.55 after the company disclosed that its topline Phase 3 ACTIMMUNE results did not meet primary and secondary endpoint.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.21 percent to $50.87 while gold traded down 0.41 percent to $1,172.70.

Silver traded down 1.13 percent Thursday to $17.08, while copper fell 0.78 percent to $2.62.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.23 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.06 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 1.64 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.75 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.87 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.42 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 258,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 258,000 in the week.