Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.64 percent to 25,081.08 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.38 percent to
7,092.50. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.55 percent to 2,727.88.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday morning, the financial sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from
Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: XIN) and
LNB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ: LNBB).
In trading on Thursday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.05 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector
included Cato Corp (NYSE: CATO), down 14 percent, and
Buckle Inc (NYSE: BKE) down 12 percent.
Top Headline
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ: WBA) reported
better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
Walgreens reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share on revenue of $30.74 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.26 per
share on sales of $30.35 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Cellect Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ: APOP) shares
shot up 53 percent to $10.88 after the company disclosed breakthrough clinical results.
Shares of ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ: CCXI) got a
boost, shooting up 40 percent to $8.67. ChemoCentryx disclosed that the EMA has accepted for review the registration dossier in
support of conditional marketing authorization for avacopan in the treatment of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. The
company also reports securing of up to $100 million in new capital commitments.
OneMain Holdings Inc (NYSE: OMF) shares were also up,
gaining 25 percent to $33.28. Apollo Global and Varde Partners reported the purchase of significant position in OneMain Holdings
from fund managed by affiliate of Fortress Investment Group.
Equities Trading DOWN
L Brands Inc (NYSE: LB) shares dropped 15 percent to
$49.66. . L Brands reported a 3 percent rise in its December sales and narrowed its Q4 earnings outlook.
Shares of Buckle Inc (NYSE: BKE) were down 11 percent
to $21.80. Buckle posted a 4.1 percent drop in comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the 5-week period
ended December 30, 2017.
Cato Corp (NYSE: CATO) was down, falling around 12
percent to $13.36. Cato reported a 9 percent drop in sales for the five weeks ended December 30, 2017. Same-store sales fell 9
percent for the month.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.90 percent to $61.52 while gold traded up 0.17 percent to $1,318.30.
Silver traded up 0.23 percent Thursday to $17.245, while copper fell 0.87 percent to $3.2495.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.48 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.37 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.27 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.83 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.81
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.30 percent.
Economics
Private-sector employers added 250,000 jobs in December, according to payroll processor ADP. However, economists expected a gain
of 188,000 jobs.
Initial jobless claims climbed 3,000 to 250,000 in the latest week. However, economists projected claims to total 240,000.
The Markit services PMI rose to 53.70 for October, versus prior reading of 52.40. However, economists projected a reading of
52.40.
Domestic supplies of natural gas dropped 206 billion cubic feet for the week ended December 29, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported. Analysts expected a decline of 219 billion..
The EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in Philadelphia at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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