Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 1.05% to 26310.17 while the NASDAQ rose 1.41% to 7967.56. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.11% to 2,919.91.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Information technology shares climbed 1.7% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Nutanix, Inc. NTNX, up 27%, and Tech Data Corporation TECD, up 19%.
In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares rose by just 0.2%.
Top Headline
Dollar General Corp. DG reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised FY19 outlook.
Dollar General reported second-quarter earnings of $1.74 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.57. The company reported quarterly sales of $6.98 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $6.89 billion.
Dollar General raised FY19 net sales growth from 7% to 8%; and diluted EPS guidance from $6.30-$6.50 to $6.36-$6.51. The company continues to expect share repurchases of approximately $1 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Castle Brands Inc. ROX shares shot up 88% to $1.25 after the company agreed to be acquired by Penrod Ricard for $223 million.
Shares of Nutanix, Inc. NTNX got a boost, shooting up 28% to $25.12 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.
Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. ARCI shares were also up, gaining 24% to $4.89 after the company said it is experiencing 'significant' increase in orders in its recycling division. As a result, the company has entered into a $2.5 million line of credit.
Equities Trading DOWN
Micro Focus International plc MFGP shares tumbled 30% to $13.18 after the company lowered its 2019 financial forecast.
Shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. OLLI were down 30% to $54.65 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results.
Trans World Entertainment Corporation TWMC was down, falling 27% to $3.87 after the company reported Q2 EPS and sales results down from last year.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.7% to $56.15, while gold traded down 0.3% to $1,545.20.
Silver traded up 0.8% Thursday to $18.46, while copper rose 0.8% to $2.5755.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.7%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.9%. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.1% and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.4% while UK shares rose 1.1%.
Economics
Gross domestic product expanded at an annual pace of 2% in the second quarter, the government reported. Economists were projecting a 2% growth.
The trade deficit in goods shrank to $72.3 billion in July, versus $74.2 billion in the previous month. However, economists were expecting a gap of $74 billion. Advanced wholesale inventories rose 0.2%, while retail inventories gained 0.8% in July.
Initial jobless claims rose 4,000 to 215,000 in the latest week. Economists projected a reading of 215,000.
The pending home sales index fell 2.5% for July.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage for the latest week is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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