Mid-Day Market Update: Thursday's Market Movers; China, US, Tesla, Wayfair, and More!

Thursday’s market session was driven by the US jobless claims report along with China’s public defense of its handling of its currency, the Yuan. The markets on Thursday were as follows:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 0.30 percent.
• S&P 500: Down 0.25 percent.
• NASDAQ Composite: Up 0.44 percent.
• US Dollar Index: Up 0.19 percent.
• 10 Year Treasury: Up 0.040 percent.
• Crude Oil WTI: Down 2.47 percent.

China’s central bank on Thursday suggested, in a rare public defence, that the Yuan will stabilize, specifying that it sees no reason for a further decline and will ultimately regain its growth; Yi Gang, the People’s Bank of China’s Vice Governor stated that China contains the “financial firepower” to defend the currency as needed, according to the Wall Street Journal. He concluded that “a fixed exchange rate looks stable, but it hides accumulated problems.”

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased 5,000 last week to 274,000, up 4,000 from just the week before. The Labor Department continues to hint at a trend pointing to a strengthening labor market.

Tesla Motors Inc TSLA announced that it will sell its shares in order to raise $500 million, with founder and CEO Elon Musk committing to purchasing nearly 84,000 shares, totaling to about $20 million. The company stated that it intended to use the money for the development of its energy business, its battery Gigafactory, Tesla’s Model 3 project, and other general purposes.

Stocks continued to rally in Thursday’s midday session:
Winners:
Capnia Inc CAPN skyrocketed a whopping 92 percent after the company reported a 16.8 percent drop in its short interest. An officer of Capnia, David D O’toole bought 10,000 shares of his company for $1.78 per share on Wednesday.

Planar Systems Inc PLNR soared 34 percent after the electronics manufacturer entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Leyard Optoelectronic for nearly $157 million.

One Horizon Group Inc OHGI was lifted 33 percent after the communications company’s Aishuo app won an exclusive supply contract for satellite operator KeyIdea.

Galectin Therapeutics Inc GALT was up 15 percent after it received US Patent Notice of allowance for use of Pectin compounds in order to reduce Fibrosis in multiple diseases.

Wayfair Inc W increased again at the rate of 15 percent after the company reported that its loss narrowed in Q2 and sales grew. This is the first time the company, since its IPO, has reported narrower losses in two consecutive quarters.

Losers:
BG Medicine Inc BGMD dwindled 38 percent after it priced its offering of 2,315,654 Series A units and 184,346 Series B units for $1.00 per unit.

MaxPoint Interactive Inc MXPT declined 26 percent after the company reported sales of $34.5 million, a 36 percent year over year increase, but in the month of June, a change in customers actively led to a slowdown for the company. CEO Brad Schomber commented that the “unusual change was the largest we have experienced.”

Comstock Resources Inc CRK was down 17 percent after the company released Q2 results; the company reported a loss of $41.48 million on sales of $241.29 million. Gross margins narrowed from 42.99 percent to a negative 2.43 percent.

EV Energy Partners LP EVEP sank 16 percent after the company reported a loss of $7.85 million, or a loss of $0.26 per share on sales of $21.6 million. Gross margins narrowed from 52.45 percent down to 26.42 percent.

Copa Holdings SA CPA was shot down 13 percent after the company announced a profit of $64.1 million, or $0.93 per share, versus analyst expectations of $1.10 per share.