Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.19 percent to 25,553.31 while the NASDAQ gained 0.08 percent to
7,427.78. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.32 percent to 2,776.86.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday morning, the materials shares rose 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold
Mining Company Limited (NYSE: HMY) up 10 percent, and
Sibanye Gold Limited (NYSE: SBGL) up 8
percent.
In trading on Thursday, energy shares fell 1.16 percent.
Top Headline
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed
estimates.
Walgreens posted quarterly earnings of $1.48 per share on revenue of $33.44 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings
of $1.45 per share on sales of $33.78 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE: MUR) shares
shot up 12 percent to $35.70 after the company reported formation of a joint venture with Petrobras' Petrobras America.
Shares of Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $18.01 after the company agreed to
sell 3 ethanol plants to Valero Renewable Fuels for $300 million in cash plus $28 million of working capital.
L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB) shares were also
up, gaining 12 percent to $31.86 after the company disclosed that it is pursuing alternatives for its La Senza business.
Equities Trading DOWN
Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM)
shares dropped 21 percent to $4.667. Atomera priced 2.625 million shares of common stock at $4.75 per share.
Shares of Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR)
were down 15 percent to $47.78 after the company issued preliminary third-quarter sales figures of $4.6 billion, $350 million below
consensus estimates. The company expects third-quarter pre-tax earnings of $125 million.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM) was
down, falling around 11 percent to $3.79 after reporting Q3 production results from its two operating mines.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.89 percent to $71.79 while gold traded up 1.4 percent to $1,210.10.
Silver traded up 0.87 percent Thursday to $14.45, while copper fell 0.81 to $2.758.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 1.25 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.77 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.88 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.69 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 1.19
percent while U.K. shares fell 1.26 percent.
Economics
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.1 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise.
Initial jobless claims rose 7,000 to 214,000 in the latest week. However, economists projected a reading of 206,000.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at
10:30 a.m. ET.
The EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.
The U.S. Treasury budget report for September is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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