Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; Cal-Maine Misses Q2 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.31 percent to 17,547.34 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.02 percent to 5,045.13. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.26 percent to 2,058.91. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Thursday, healthcare shares surged by 0.02 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Cerus Corporation CERS, Heska Corp HSKA, and Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated CORT. In trading on Thursday, energy shares dropped by 0.71 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Bill Barrett Corporation BBG, down 12 percent, and Denbury Resources Inc. DNR, down 7 percent. Top Headline Cal-Maine Foods Inc CALM reported weaker-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter on Wednesday. Cal-Maine reported quarterly earnings of $2.26 per share on revenue of $546 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.40 per share on revenue of $552 million. Equities Trading UP Patriot National Inc PN shares shot up 25 percent to $8.69 after the company reported that it has closed a rescission and exchange agreement with certain institutional investors to repurchase 1,666,666 shares for approximately $20 million. Shares of Sunedison Inc SUNE got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $5.90 after the company said it has been engaged in discussions relating to a new second lien credit facility of up to $650 million. Adage Capital Partners reported a new stake in SunEdison of 5.37 percent in 13G filing. MBIA Inc. MBI shares were also up, gaining 8 percent to $6.72 as Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) reached a deal with creditors. Equities Trading DOWN Revance Therapeutics Inc RVNC shares tumbled 9 percent to $33.25. The company reported positive Phase 2 results for RT001 botulinum toxin type A topical gel for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis. Shares of Cal-Maine Foods Inc CALM were down 3 percent to $48.19 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY was down, falling around 1 percent to $48.58. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond from Buy to Neutral. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 1.52 percent to $38.07, while gold traded up 0.59 percent to $1,074.60. Silver traded up 0.55 percent Thursday to $14.37, while copper fell 0.28 percent to $2.12. Eurozone European shares were mixed today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index jumped 0.43 percent, the French CAC 40 slipped 0.24 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.22 percent. Economics US jobless claims slipped by 5,000 to 267,000 in the week ended December 19. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 270,000 in the week.