Late Market Roundup

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp SHLD plunged after the company posted lower same-store sales. However, the company narrowed its Q2 loss on a year-over-year basis, but still the loss was wider than expected. SHLD’s interim chief executive officer Bruce Johnson said, "Kmart continued to improve its performance during the second quarter, as an improvement in its gross margin rate led to increased profitability." He added, "Overall, our total revenues declined only slightly despite the uncertain economic environment faced by our customers." SHLD’s shares declined more than 7% following the results. Gold futures fluctuated today after reaching their 7-week high level earlier in the day. Gold for December delivery gained about $0.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The contract had earlier reached an intraday high of $1,239.50 an ounce. Shares of Children's Place Retail Stores Inc PLCE jumped after the company reported its Q2 results. PLCE had widened its Q2 loss on a year-over-year basis. However, the retailer raised its EPS projections for the full year and also announced a share buyback program worth $100 million. PLCE’s shares advanced more than 6% following the announcement. The Treasury Department has planned to sell notes and bonds worth $109 billion next week. The US government will be auctioning 2-year notes worth $37 billion, 5-year notes worth $36 billion and 7-year notes worth $29 billion. The US government has also planned to sell $7 billion in 30-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). Read more from Benzinga's Markets.