Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Flat; Big Lots Profit Beats Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.05 percent to 21,072.82 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.03 percent to 6,207.40. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 2,415.12.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Friday.

In trading on Friday, Utilities shares fell 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Targa Resources Corp TRGP, down 3 percent, and National Fuel Gas Co. NFG, down 1 percent.

Top Headline

Big Lots, Inc. BIG reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY17 outlook.

The big-box retailer said it earned $1.15 per share in the quarter on revenue of $1.297 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.99 per share on revenue of $1.31 billion.

Big Lots raised its FY17 earnings outlook to $4.05 to $4.20 per share, versus earlier forecast of $3.95 to $4.10 per share.


Equities Trading UP

Deckers Outdoor Corp DECK shares shot up 20 percent to $67.80 after the company posted a surprise profit for its fourth quarter and issued a strong forecast.

Shares of Nutanix Inc NTNX got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $19.87 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter and issued a strong outlook for the current quarter.

AmTrust Financial Services Inc AFSI shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $13.69 as the company disclosed that it will receive $300 million of common equity capital from private placement.


Equities Trading DOWN

Zoe's Kitchen Inc ZOES shares dropped 18 percent to $13.26. Zoe's Kitchen posted in-line Q1 profit, but sales missed estimates. The company also lowered its full-year sales outlook.

Shares of GameStop Corp. GME were down 9 percent to $21.59. GameStop reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter. However, the company reaffirmed its FY17 earnings outlook.

21Vianet Group Inc VNET was down, falling around 9 percent to $5.11. 21Vianet Group reported a Q1 loss of $0.10 per share on sales of $125.3 million.


Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.08 percent to $48.94 while gold traded up 0.72 percent to $1,268.90.

Silver traded up 0.39 percent Friday to $17.26, while copper fell 1.33 percent to $2.563.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.73 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.77 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.37 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.44 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.39 percent.

Economics

U.S. durable-goods orders declined 0.7 percent for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 1 percent drop.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual pace of 1.2 percent for the first quarter, versus original estimate of 0.7 percent growth. Economists were expecting a 0.9 percent growth for the quarter.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to 97.10 in May, versus a prior reading of 97.70. Economists were expecting a reading of 97.50.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsGuidanceEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMoversMid-Morning Market Update
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