Courtesy of Benzinga.
Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.11 percent to 17,105.00 while the NASDAQ surged 0.21 percent to 4,483.11. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.19 percent to 1,990.84.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial sector was the top gainer in today’s trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP), up 11.5 percent, and Intermountain Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: IMCB), up 10.2 percent.
In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.16 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Clearfield (NASDAQ: CLFD), down 16.8 percent, and Invacare (NYSE: IVC), off 14.9 percent.
Top Headline
Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company posted a quarterly profit of $1.31 billion, or $0.32 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.23 billion, or $0.30 per share. Its earnings after tax, excluding special items, came in at $0.40 per share.
Its revenue fell to $37.4 billion from $37.9 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.36 per share on revenue of $36.16 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) shares shot up 15.45 percent to $15.39 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its operating income forecast.
Shares of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) got a boost, shooting up 6.62 percent to $76.01 after the company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results on strong growth in daily users and advertising revenue.
VASCO Data Security International (NASDAQ: VDSI) shares were also up, gaining 20.69 percent to $14.00 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results and issued a strong FY14 revenue forecast.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LMCA) were down 65.43 percent to $48.85 after the company announced adjustment to the conversion rate of its 1.375% cash convertible senior notes due 2023.
TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) shares tumbled 8.66 percent to $98.06 after the company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter profit.
QUALCOMM (NASDAQ: QCOM) was down, falling 6.19 percent to $76.55 after the company issued downbeat earnings forecast for the current quarter. However, the company reported a 42% rise in its fiscal third-quarter net income. Evercore Partners downgraded QUALCOMM from Overweight to Equal-weight and lowered the price target from $88.00 to $83.00.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.46 percent to $102.65, while gold traded down 1.11 percent to $1,292.00.
Silver traded down 2.38 percent Thursday to $20.52, while copper rose 1.78 percent to $3.26.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 jumped 0.29 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 1.67 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.88 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.19 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.72 percent while UK shares rose 0.19 percent.
Economics
US jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 284,000 in the week that ended July 19. However, economists were expecting initial claims of 310,000 in the week.
The flash reading of Markit PMI manufacturing index fell to 56.30 in July, versus a prior reading of 57.30. However, economists were expecting a reading of 57.50.
Sales of new homes dropped 8.1% to an annual rate of 406,000 in June. However, economists were expecting a rate of 475,000.
The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index rose to 9.00 in July, versus a prior reading of 6.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 6.00.
US natural-gas stockpiles increased 90 bcf last week, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Emerging Markets Downgrades Eurozone Futures Price Target
