Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 25,691.67 while the NASDAQ declined 0.1 percent to
7,636.03. The S&P fell 0.13 percent to 2,807.33.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday afternoon, the information technology shares climbed 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included
MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) up 26 percent,
and Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTH) up 13 percent.
In trading on Thursday, materials shares fell 0.7 percent.
Top Headline
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) reported
weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued weak 2019 outlook.
Dollar General reported quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share on sales of $6.65 billion. However, analysts were expecting
earnings of $1.88 per share on sales of $6.61 billion. Its same-store sales increased 4 percent.
Dollar General expects FY19 earnings of $6.30 to $6.50 per share on sales growth of 7 percent year over year. Analysts project
earnings of $6.65 per share. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.29 to $0.32 per share and reported a $1 billion
buyback plan.
Equities Trading UP
Atossa Genetics Inc (NASDAQ: ATOS)
shares got a boost, shooting up 253 percent to $5.33 after the company received FDA approval of oral Endoxifen for 'expanded
access' as a post-mastectomy treatment for a US breast cancer patient.
Shares of Smith Micro Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMSI) shot up 28 percent to $2.39 after the company reported higher-than-expected
Q4 EPS and sales results.
Mongodb Inc (NASDAQ: MDB) shares were
also up, gaining 26 percent to $130.80 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results. The company also
issued Q1 EPS and sales guidance above analyst estimates.
Equities Trading DOWN
Tailored Brands, Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) shares
dropped 23 percent to $9.05 after the company reported lower-than-expected Q4 sales results. The company also reported comps at
Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank were down.
Shares of Legacy Reserves Inc. (NASDAQ: LGCY) were down 51 percent to $0.6768 after the company announced a review of
strategic alternatives; alternatives include a sale or other business combination transaction, sales of assets and financing
transactions.
FTD Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTD) was
down, falling around 24 percent to $1.2450 after the company reported Q4 sales of $247.5 million, down from $278.1 million last
year, and cut FY19 sales and EBITDA guidance.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.5 percent to $58.52 while gold traded down 1 percent to $1,295.90.
Silver traded down 1.7 percent Thursday to $15.20, while copper fell 1.5 percent to $2.8925.
Eurozone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.78 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.19 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.62 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.13 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.82
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.37 percent.
Economics
Initial jobless claims increased 6,000 to 229,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting a 225,000 reading.
The import price index rose 0.6 percent in February, while export prices increased 0.6 percent.
Sales of new U.S. homes fell 6.9 percent in January to an annual rate of 607,000. However, analysts were expecting a 622,000
rate.
Domestic supplies of natural gas dropped 204 billion cubic feet for the week ended March 8, the U.S. Energy Information
Administration reported. However, analysts expected a decline of 208 billion cubic feet.
Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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