Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.07 percent to 24,404.07 while the NASDAQ declined 0.21 percent to
7,447.13. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.54 percent to 2,709.33.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Thursday, the information technology shares surged 0.29 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Keysight
Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), up 12 percent, and
Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ: DWCH) up 6
percent.
In trading on Thursday, consumer staples shares fell 1.54 percent.
Top Headline
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) reported
weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter.
Dollar General posted adjusted earnings of $1.36 per share on revenue of $6.114 billion. However, analysts were expecting
earnings of $1.40 per share on revenue of $6.2 billion. Its same-store growth rose 2.1 percent in the quarter.
Equities Trading UP
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL)
shares shot up 127 percent to $245.98 in reaction to an encouraging Phase 2 clinical trial update. The clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company said its liver-directed, thyroid hormone receptor called MGL-3196 showed a statistical significance in
the primary endpoint of lowering liver fat at 12 weeks and also 36 weeks.
Shares of Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER)
got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $0.415. The developer of rapid health information technologies said Wednesday afternoon it
was granted a 180-day extension from the Nasdaq Stock Market to meet the requirement of a minimum $1.00 per share closing bid price
for 10 straight days.
J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE: JILL) shares were also up,
gaining 18 percent to $7.31 after the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings.
Equities Trading DOWN
scPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCPH) shares
dropped 30 percent to $9.91 after the FDA identified deficiencies in the company’s New Drug Application for FUROSCIX. However, the
FDA letter did not specify deficiencies identified and notification does not reflect final decision on information under
review.
Shares of Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) were down
25 percent to $1.830. Euroseas announced completion of the spin-off of its drybulk fleet into EuroDry Ltd.
Quantum Corporation (NYSE: QTM) was down, falling
around 20 percent to $2.76. Quantum appointed J. Michael Dodson as Chief Financial Officer and interim CEO, effective May 31. Lake
Street downgraded Quantum from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $6 to $4.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.5 percent to $67.19 while gold traded up 0.19 percent to $1,309.00.
Silver traded up 0.07 percent Thursday to $16.555, while copper rose 0.13 to $3.073.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.43 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.28 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.64 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 1.29 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.54
percent while U.K. shares fell 0.14 percent.
Economics
Initial jobless claims fell 13,000 to 221,000 in the latest week. However, economists were projecting a 225,000 reading.
Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in April, versus a revised 0.5 percent increase in March. Economists were expecting a 0.4
percent rise.
The Chicago PMI rose 5.1 points to a reading of 62.7 in May..
U.S. pending home sales declined 1.3 percent to 106.4 for April.
Domestic supplies of natural gas climbed 96 billion cubic feet for the week ended May 25, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported. Analysts expected a gain of 102 billion cubic feet.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 8:30 p.m. ET.
© 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.