Mid-Day Market Update: U.S. Stocks Turn Higher; Williams-Sonoma Shares Climb On Earnings Beat

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.09 percent to 17,701.53 while the NASDAQ gained 0.51 percent to 4,699.58. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.23 percent to 2,053.51.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 0.95 percent on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC NKA, up 9.3 percent, and Swift Energy Co SFY, up 7.1 percent.

In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares dropped by 0.23 percent. Top losers in the sector included Rockwell Medical RMTI, down 8.5 percent, and Utah Medical Products UTMD, off 4.4 percent.

Top Headline

Dollar Tree DLTR reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal third quarter.

The Chesapeake, Virginia-based company posted quarterly earnings of $133 million, or $0.64 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $125.4 million, or $0.58 per share. Excluding items, the company earned $0.69 per share.

Its revenue climbed 11% to $2.1 billion in the period. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion. The company’s same-store sales rose 5.9% in the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Caesars Entertainment CZR shares shot up 6.85 percent to $15.36 after the company proposed turning its operating unit into a real estate investment trust in a move to restructure its debt, according to Bloomberg.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma WSM got a boost, shooting up 9.88 percent to $76.28 after the company reported better-than-expected results for the third fiscal quarter and raised its FY14 forecast. The company’s same-store sales rose 8.7% in the quarter.

Best Buy Co BBY shares were also up, gaining 7.68 percent to $38.27 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals LXRX were down 18.39 percent to $1.02 after the company announced a proposed convertible senior notes offering.

Jumei International Holding JMEI shares tumbled 7.24 percent to $20.62 after the company reported downbeat Q3 results.

GoPro GPRO was down, falling 6.02 percent to $74.33 after the company priced a follow-on public offering of 10,360,500 shares at a price of $75.00 per share by the company and selling shareholders.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.47 percent to $74.93, while gold traded down 0.45 percent to $1,188.50.

Silver traded down 0.95 percent Thursday to $16.14, while copper fell 0.53 percent to $3.02.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.3 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.6 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.45 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.13 percent and the French CAC 40 tumbled 0.85 percent while UK shares fell 0.82 percent.

Economics

US jobless claims dropped by 2,000 to 291,000 in the week ended November 15. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 284,000 in the week.

US consumer prices came in flat in October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1% drop.

The flash reading of Markit manufacturing PMI declined to a 54.7 reading in November, versus a reading of 55.9 in October.

The general conditions index of the Philadelphia Fed's Survey jumped to 40.80 in November, versus a prior reading of 20.70.

Sales of existing homes increased 1.5% to an annual rate of 5.26 million in October. However, economists were expecting the sales rate to fall to 5.15 million in the month.

The Conference Board's index of leading indicators rose 0.90% in October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.60% gain.

US supplies of natural gas dropped 17 billion cubic feet for the week ended November 14, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, analysts were expecting supplies to fall 9 bcf to 13 bcf for the week.