Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.08 percent to 20,674.93 while the NASDAQ rose 0.15 percent to
5,906.44. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.06 percent to 2,362.43.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday morning, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength
from AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) and
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX).
In trading on Thursday, utilities shares fell 0.49 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Genie Energy Ltd
(NYSE: GNE), down 4 percent, and Companhia Paranaense de
Energia (ADR) (NYSE: ELP), down 2 percent.
Top Headline
Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) reported
downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.
Lululemon posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $1 per share, missing estimate by $0.01 per share. The company expects Q1 earnings of
$0.25 to $0.27 per share, with sales of $510 to $515 million.
Equities Trading UP
Interpace Diagnostics Group Inc (NASDAQ: IDXG)
shares shot up 24 percent to $3.15. Interpace Diagnostics reported Q4 earnings from continuing operations of $3.25 per share on
revenue of $3.122 million.
Shares of Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ: EXTR) got
a boost, shooting up 22 percent to $7.90 after the company announced plans to acquire Brocade's data center networking business for
$55 million.
BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ: BVXV)
shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $6.88 after the company disclosed that it has been approved for a grant from Israel's
Ministry of Economy and Industry to build a facility for commercial scale production of its universal flu vaccine candidate
M-001.
Equities Trading DOWN
Cartesian Inc (NASDAQ: CRTN) shares dropped 28
percent to $0.800. Cartesian reported Q4 adjusted loss of $0.03 per share on revenue of $16.9 million.
Shares of Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU)
were down around 22 percent to $51.66 after the company reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a weak
forecast for the current quarter.
Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) was down, falling around
12 percent to $1.03 after the company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.63 percent to $49.82 while gold traded down 0.50 percent to $1,250.40.
Silver traded down 0.31 percent Thursday to $18.20, while copper fell 0.28 percent to $2.67.
Eurozone
European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.03 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.05 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.03 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.08 percent
while U.K. shares fell 0.20 percent.
Economics
The U.S. economy grew at a pace of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter. However, economists projected a 1.9 percent growth.
U.S. jobless claims declined 3,000 to 258,000 for the latest week. Economists were expecting claims total 248,000 in the
week.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Washington, D.C. at 11:00 a.m. ET.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in New York at 11:15 a.m. ET.
Data on farm prices for March will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
New York Federal Reserve Bank of President William Dudley will speak in Sarasota, Florida at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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