Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.73 percent to 17,822.92 while the NASDAQ gained 0.65 percent to 4,810.35. The
S&P also rose, gaining 0.69 percent to 2,084.98.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Thursday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by 1.9 percent.
In trading on Thursday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares slipped by 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector
included Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: BSET), down 14 percent, and AirMedia Group Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ: AMCN), down 16 percent.
Top Headline
ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced 42.8
percent drop in net income for the fourth quarter hurt by increased operational costs as sales dipped 9.5 percent. Its sales missed
the Street predictions while adjusted earnings came in line with the expectations. The company indicated its plan to separate the
company into two.
ConAgra Foods reported net income of $120.9 million for the fourth quarter, down from $211.5 million in the prior year quarter.
Similarly, its earnings dropped to $0.27 a share from $0.48 a share in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted earnings from continuing
operations were $0.52 a share, which was in line with the Street estimations.
The company's net sales fell 9.5 percent to $2.83 billion from $3.12 billion in the previous year quarter. This fell short of
the Street expectations of $2.89 billion.
Moving ahead, the company indicated its plans to separate into two independent pure play companies, Conagra Brands and Lamb
Weston.
Equities Trading UP
Care.com Inc (NYSE: CRCM) shares shot up 39 percent
to $11.76. Google Capital is making a $46.35 million investment in Care.com and Laela Sturdy of Google Capital will join Care.com
board.
Shares of Higher One Holdings, Inc (NYSE: ONE) got a
boost, shooting up 36 percent to $5.10 after the company struck a definitive agreement to sell the company to Blackboard affiliate
for $5.15 per share in cash.
Hershey Co (NYSE: HSY) shares were also up, gaining
18 percent to $114.92 following a report that Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ) presented a takeover bid. The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar
with the matter," stated Mondelez sent a letter to Hershey, which proposed a combination of their businesses.
Equities Trading DOWN
Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solutions Hldg Ltd (NASDAQ: KONE) shares dropped 40 percent to $1.87. Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution reported a
1H'16 loss of $0.48 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.87 per share. The company also lowered its FY16 outlook.
Shares of Exfo Inc (NASDAQ: EXFO) were down 15
percent to $3.37. EXFO reported Q3 IFRS earnings of $0.02 per share on revenue of $60.9 million. The company also expected Q3
revenue of $57 million to $62 million.
Costamare Inc (NYSE: CMRE) was down, falling around
15 percent to $7.68. Morgan Stanley downgraded Costamare from Overweight to Equal-weight and lowered the price target from $12.00
to $7.50.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.78 percent to $48.99 while gold traded down 0.43 percent to $1,321.20.
Silver traded up 0.72 percent Thursday to $18.54, while copper fell 0.25 percent to $2.18.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.49 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.01 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.20 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.21 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.67 percent,
while U.K. shares rose 1.27 percent.
Economics
Initial jobless claims increased 10,000 to 268,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting claims to total
267,000 in the week.
The Chicago PMI rose to 56.80 in June, versus a prior reading of 49.30. However, economists were expecting a reading of
50.70.
Supplies of the natural gas stocks increased 37 billion cubic feet for the week ended June 24, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 62 billion cubic feet.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in London at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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