Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Tiffany Misses Q2 Expectations

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.96 percent to 16,442.18 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.14 percent to 4,751.27. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.13 percent to 1,962.49.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Thursday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 2.9 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included McDermott International MDR, up 27 percent, and Arch Coal Inc ACI, up 27 percent.
Utilities shares rose by just 0.5 percent in Thursday’s trading. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Exterran Partners, L.P. EXLP, down 1.2 percent, and Atlantic Power Corp AT, off 2.6 percent.

Top Headline
Tiffany & Co. TIF reported weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter and issued a weak forecast.
The New York-based company reported quarterly net earnings of $104.9 million, or $0.81 per share, compared to $124.1 million, or $0.96 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company’s earnings slipped 10 percent to $0.86 per share.
Worldwide net sales slipped to $990.5 million from $992.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91 per share on revenue of $1.00 billion.
Equities Trading UP
NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) NQ shares shot up 39 percent to $4.22. NQ Mobile reported upbeat quarter earnings, and announced agreements to sell NationSky and FL Mobile.
Shares of McDermott International MDR got a boost, shooting up 29 percent to $4.45 after the company reported that it has been awarded a lump sum contract by Saudi Aramco for brownfield work in various fields offshore Saudi Arabia.
Burlington Stores Inc BURL shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $53.25 after the company reported upbeat results for the second quarter and lifted its full-year earnings forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN
1-800-Flowers.Com Inc FLWS shares tumbled 10 percent to $8.61. 1-800-Flowers reported a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.13 per share on revenue of $228.3 million.
Shares of Fred's, Inc. FRED were down 7 percent to $12.00. Fred's reported a Q2 loss of $0.13 per share on sales of $546.1 million. The company also issued a weak earnings forecast.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM was down, falling 6 percent to $78.15. Williams-Sonoma reported in-line earnings for the second quarter. However, the company issued a weak forecast.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 3.65 percent to $40.01, while gold traded down 0.21 percent to $1,122.20.
Silver traded up 0.72 percent Thursday to $14.18, while copper rose 1.95 percent to $2.28.

Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 3.28 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.96 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 2.75 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 3.30 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 3.46 percent while UK shares rose 2.93 percent.

Economics
US jobless claims slipped 6,000 to 271,000 in the week ended August 22. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 270,000.
The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the second quarter. However, economists were expecting gross domestic product to increase to 3.3 percent in the quarter.
The pending home sales index increased 0.5 percent in July, versus economists’ expectations for a 1 percent growth.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsGuidanceEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesContractsM&AEconomicsIntraday UpdateMarkets
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