Mid-Day Market Update: Duluth Surges On Earnings Beat; Diana Containerships Shares Plummet

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.03 percent to 20,661.19 while the NASDAQ rose 0.35 percent to 5,814.28. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.18 percent to 2,348.15.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) HIMX and LG Display Co Ltd. (ADR) LPL.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.21 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. HOS, down 8 percent, and Westmoreland Coal Company WLB, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Nike Inc NKE reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates.

Nike posted Q3 earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $8.4 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.53 per share on revenue of $8.47 billion. On a currency-neutral basis, Nike’s futures orders dropped 1 percent, while futures orders on a reported basis dropped around 4 percent.

Equities Trading UP

Duluth Holdings Inc DLTH shares shot up 15 percent to $22.05 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results.

Shares of Moleculin Biotech Inc MBRX got a boost, shooting up 30 percent to $1.39 after the company reported that its AML treatment Liposomal Annamycin has been awarded the FDA Orphan Drug designation.

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc IDRA shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $2.32. JMP Securities initiated coverage on Idera Pharmaceuticals with a Market Outperform rating.

Equities Trading DOWN

Diana Containerships Inc DCIX shares dropped 25 percent to $1.72. Diana Containerships reported up to $150 million securities offering.

Shares of Sears Holdings Corp SHLD were down around 15 percent to $7.75. Sears warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales.

Glassbridge Enterprises Inc GLA was down, falling around 12 percent to $5.42. GlassBridge reported a Q4 loss from continuing operations of $3.27 per share on sales of $11.3 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.20 percent to $47.66 while gold traded up 0.12 percent to $1,251.10.

Silver traded down 0.13 percent Wednesday to $17.56, while copper rose 0.36 percent to $2.63.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.43 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.43 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.29 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.34 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.05 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.57 percent.

Economics

Existing-home sales declined 3.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.48 million in February, the National Association of Realtors reported. However, economists were expecting a 5.57 million rate.

Crude-oil supplies increased 5 million barrels for the week ended March 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 2 million barrels. Gasoline supplies slipped 2.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 1.9 million barrels last week.