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Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Sears Drops After Warning Of Ability To Continue As A Going Concern; Idera Pharma Shares Surge

LPL, MBRX, PSHG, DLTH, HIMX, XELB, NKE

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.11 percent to 20,645.24 while the NASDAQ rose 0.29 percent to 5,810.89. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.11 percent to 2,346.66.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ: HIMX) and LG Display Co Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: LPL).

In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD), down 14 percent, and Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE), down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.

Nike posted Q3 earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $8.4 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.53 per share on revenue of $8.47 billion. On a currency-neutral basis, Nike’s futures orders dropped 1 percent, while futures orders on a reported basis dropped around 4 percent.

Equities Trading UP

Duluth Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: DLTH) shares shot up 14 percent to $21.95 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results.

Shares of Moleculin Biotech Inc (NASDAQ: MBRX) got a boost, shooting up 35 percent to $1.44 after the company reported that its AML treatment Liposomal Annamycin has been awarded the FDA Orphan Drug designation.

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA) shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $2.48. JMP Securities initiated coverage on Idera Pharmaceuticals with a Market Outperform rating and price target of $8.

Equities Trading DOWN

Diana Containerships Inc (NASDAQ: DCIX) shares dropped 29 percent to $1.61. Diana Containerships reported up to $150 million securities offering.

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD) were down around 14 percent to $7.81. Sears warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales.

XCel Brands Inc (NASDAQ: XELB) was down, falling around 19 percent to $2.75 after the company posted weak Q4 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.44 percent to $48.03 while gold traded up 0.34 percent to $1,253.90.

Silver traded up 0.01 percent Wednesday to $17.59, while copper rose 0.69 percent to $2.64.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.44 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.17 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.17 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.48 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.15 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.73 percent.

Economics

Existing-home sales declined 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.48 million in February, the National Association of Realtors reported. However, economists were expecting a 5.57 million rate.

Crude-oil supplies increased 5 million barrels for the week ended March 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 2 million barrels. Gasoline supplies slipped 2.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 1.9 million barrels last week.



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