Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Slip; Bank of America Q4 Profit Drops

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.14 percent to 17,403.36 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.52 percent to 4,615.38. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.16 percent to 2,008.13.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares rose by 0.91 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. AU, up 8 percent, and Silver Standard Resources Inc. SSRI, up 7.3 percent.

Technology shares tumbled by 0.53 percent in the US market on Thursday. Top losers in the sector included BlackBerry Limited BBRY, down 15.7 percent, LivePerson Inc. LPSN, off 9.5 percent.

Top Headline

Bank of America Corp. BAC reported lower profit in the fourth quarter.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company posted quarterly net income of $3.05 billion, or $0.25 per share, compared to $3.44 billion, or $0.29 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The latest quarter results included three adjustments that lowered EPS by $0.07.

Its revenue dropped 13% to $18.73 billion, while revenue on a tax equivalent basis shrank to $18.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.31 per share on revenue of $20.94 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation PPC shares shot up 4.15 percent to $32.84 after the company announced a special cash dividend of $5.77 per share. Pilgrims Pride said in 8-K that it entered into a letter of commitment with Rabobank for up $600 million bridge facility.

Shares of Target Corp. TGT got a boost, shooting up 2.58 percent to $76.25 after the company issued a favorable Q4 guidance and announced its plans to fully exit its Canadian operations after less than two years in operations.

GFI Group Inc. GFIG shares were also up, gaining 2.20 percent to $5.57 after CME Group Inc. CME revised its offer for GFI Group.

Equities Trading DOWN

BlackBerry Limited BBRY shares tumbled 15.52 percent to $10.64 on Samsung denial of acquisition interest. Shares of BlackBerry jumped more than 29% yesterday, following a report from Reuters, that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SSNLF had approached the Canadian handset maker with a takeover bid. However, BlackBerry denied talking with Samsung regarding a takeover deal.

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. BBY were down 14.76 percent to $34.02 on holiday sales data and weak guidance. Best Buy reported that its domestic comparable-store sales for the nine weeks ended January 3, 2015 rose 2.6%, an improvement from the 0.9% decline the company saw in the same period a year ago.

Citigroup Inc. C was down, falling 2.38 percent to $47.88 after the bank reported a drop in its fourth-quarter profit.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.80 percent to $48.09, while gold traded up 1.86 percent to $1,257.50.

Silver traded up 0.84 percent Thursday to $17.13, while copper rose 2.39 percent to $2.57.

Euro zone

 

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 2.05 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.77 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 2.24 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.85 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 1.70 percent while UK shares gained 0.89 percent.

Economics

US jobless claims rose 19,000 to 316,000 in the week ended January 10. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 299,000 in the week.

The producer price index dropped 0.3% in December, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4% decline.

The Empire State manufacturing index jumped to 9.95 in January, versus negative 1.23 in December. However, economists were expecting a reading of 5.00.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index declined to 6.3 in January, from 24.3 in December. However, economists were expecting a reading of 18.7.

Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.