Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.12 percent to 18,332.09 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.08 percent to
5,163.91. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.05 percent to 2,162.79.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday afternoon, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from
Intralinks Holdings Inc (NYSE: IL) and Magnachip
Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: MX).
In trading on Thursday, telecommunications services shares fell by 0.24 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included
Cogent Communications Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CCOI),
down 11 percent, and ORBCOMM Inc (NASDAQ: ORBC), down
5 percent.
Top Headline
Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) reported
better-than-expected third quarter results.
The entertainment firm reported adjusted net earnings attributable to its shareholders of $419 million or $1.05 a share. In
comparison, the company earned $591 million or $1.47 a share in the year-ago period suggesting that the adjusted profit dropped 29
percent on a year-over-year basis. However, the adjusted EPS were $0.04 a share more than the analysts' estimate of $1.01 a
share.
Viacom generated 2 percent higher revenue at $3.107 billion than $3.058 billion recorded in the previous year quarter. Analysts'
predicted $3.01 billion revenue.
Equities Trading UP
SAExploration Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAEX) shares
shot up 354 percent to $42.42. SAExploration reported Q2 earnings of $1.97 per share on revenue of $57 million.
Shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA)
got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $8.25 as the company posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss.
Intralinks Holdings Inc (NYSE: IL) shares were also
up, gaining 23 percent to $8.14 following Q2 results. Intralinks Holdings posted a Q2 net loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $73
million.
Equities Trading DOWN
CIBER, Inc. (NYSE: CBR) shares dropped 35 percent to
$0.944 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results.
Shares of EndoChoice Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: GI) were
down 25 percent to $3.94 after the company posted a wider-than-expected Q2 loss and issued a weak FY16 guidance.
Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBRG)
was down, falling around 33 percent to $5.31 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results and lowered its FY16 outlook.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.52 percent to $41.86 while gold traded up 0.21 percent to $1,367.60.
Silver traded down 0.27 percent Thursday to $20.42, while copper fell 1.18 percent to $2.17.
Eurozone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.67 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.48 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.66 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.57 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.57 percent,
while U.K. shares rose 1.59 percent. The Bank of England lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 percent.
The Bank of England also expanded its stimulus measures by expanding its balance sheet by 170 billion pounds (approximately $223
billion) with purchases of gilts and corporate bonds and a lending program for financial institutions.
Economics
Initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 269,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting initial jobless
claims to total 265,000 in the week.
U.S. factory orders declined 1.5 percent for June, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.80 percent drop.
Natural gas inventories declined 6 billion cubic feet versus the prior week to 3.288 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Information
Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 1 billion cubic feet.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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