Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.70 percent to 19,930.17 while the NASDAQ rose 0.77 percent to 5,478.77. The
S&P also rose, gaining 0.66 percent to 2,268.20.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial shares gained around 0.90 percent in trading on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Southwest
Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: OKSB), and Southern First
Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFST).
In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.45 percent. Meanwhile, top
losers in the sector included IAMGOLD Corp (USA) (NYSE: IAG), down 11 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE: AUY), down 11 percent.
Top Headline
Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) reported
stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.
Sanderson Farms posted Q4 earnings of $3.36 per share on revenue of $790.8 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.66
per share on revenue of $791.1 million.
Equities Trading UP
Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) shares shot up 36
percent to $8.83 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter and named Terry London as interim
president and CEO. The company also raised Q4 and FY 2016 guidance by a significant amount.
Shares of athenahealth, Inc (NASDAQ: ATHN) got a
boost, shooting up 25 percent to $117.85 after the company reaffirmed its FY16 guidance. athenahealth projects FY17 non-GAAP
adjusted operating income of $170 million to $190 million and revenue of $1.29 billion to $1.33 billion.
Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: OKSB) shares were
also up, gaining 18 percent to $28.15 after Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC) announced plans to acquire the company in a deal valued at around $564.4
million.
Equities Trading DOWN
Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG) shares dropped
20 percent to $1.80 as the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.
Shares of Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD)
were down 13 percent to $5.11 after the company reported a proposed offering of convertible senior notes due 2023.
Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ: PACB)
was down, falling around 40 percent to $51.40 after the company reported the termination of agreement with Roche Diagnostics around
the company company's Single Molecule, Real-Time technology.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.32 percent to $51.40 while gold traded down 3.08 percent to $1,127.80.
Silver traded down 6.95 percent Thursday to $16.03, while copper rose 0.44 percent to $2.62.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.02 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.40 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 1.91 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.24 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 1.27
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.71 percent.
Economics
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent for November, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent growth.
Initial jobless claims slipped 4,000 to 254,000 in the latest week. Economists were expecting claims to reach 250,000 in the
week.
The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to 21.5 in December, versus a reading of 7.6 in November.
The NYSE: Empire State manufacturing index increased to a reading of 9 in December, versus 1.5 in November. Economists were
expecting a reading of 4.
The U.S. current-account deficit narrowed 4.5 percent to $113 billion in the third quarter, versus $118.3 billion.
The Markit flash manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2 in December, compared to a reading of 54.1 in November.
The NAHB housing market index increased to a reading of 70 in December, versus a prior reading of 63. Economists were expecting
a reading of 63.
Supplies of natural gas declined 147 billion cubic feet for the week ended December 9, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 128 billion cubic feet.
The Treasury International Capital data for October will be released at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.