Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.42
percent to 12,877.82 while the NASDAQ fell 0.74 percent to
2,915.64. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.57 percent to
1,386.52.
Top Headline
McDonald's (NYSE:
MCD
) shocked some investors this morning after the company announced
that its global comp sales had declined 1.8 percent, with US and
European comps falling 2.2 percent. The announcement caused
McDonald's shares to fall roughly one percent in early
trading.
Equities Trading UP
Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:
WLL
) saw an early boost and a subsequent drop, remaining up 2.54
percent to $43.11 on renewed chatter that Statoil (NYSE:
STO
) had offered $65 per share for the company. Following the
rumour, Statoil came out denying the rumour, causing the
subsequent drop. Stay tuned to Benzinga for more up to the second
news on the possible deal.
Monster Worldwide (NYSE:
MWW
) continued to rally, rising 17.34 percent to $6.70 after the
company reported an earnings beat Thursday morning and was
reported to be seeking the sale of ChinaHR as part of its
restructuring.
Shares of Sapient (NASDAQ:
SAPE
) also rose, trading up 16.77 percent, to $11.56 following a
strong earnings beat after the close Wednesday.
Equities Trading DOWN
Universal Display (NASDAQ:
PANL
) dropped 18.42 percent to $22.99 following a downgrade at
Wedbush Securities.
Shares of The Babcock & Wilcox Company (NYSE:
BWC
) fell 11.92 percent to $23.12 following an earnings miss after
the close Wednesday.
Genomic Health (NASDAQ:
GHDX
) was also down, falling 13.36 percent to $27.62 despite an
earnings beat after the close Wednesday.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.09 percent to $85.36, while
gold traded up 0.48 percent to $1,726.60.
Silver traded down 0.07 percent Thursday to $32.10.
Eurozone
In the eurozone, amid sweeping violent protests, Greece passed
its latest round of austerity measures, securing a new round of
bailout money for the ailing country.
The ECB also made headlines, deciding to leave rates
unchanged, despite hints from some economists that they may be
coming down. Following the decision, ECB president Mario Draghi
made some comments about the expected near future performance of
the euro zone economy, and the message was bleak.
Following in the footsteps of the ECB, the Bank of England
also decided to hold rates flat.
Economics
In economic news, initial jobless claims were reported at 355
thousand, below the forecasted 370 thousand and the prior figure
of 363 thousand, while continuing jobless claims came in at 3.127
million, better than the expected 3.253 million, and the previous
report of 3.262 million.
Trade balance was also reported, coming in at -41.5 billion,
better than the expected -45 billion and the prior figure of
-44.2 billion.
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