Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.04
percent to 13,257.20 while the NASDAQ rose 0.03 percent to
3,045.86. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.17 percent to
1,438.25.
Top Headline
It was announced this morning that the Intercontinental Exchange
would acquire the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:
NYX
) for $8.2 billion in cash, or $33.12 per share. This sent shares
of of the NYSE up over 34 percent in early trading and provided
increased interest in other publicly traded exchanges.
Equities Trading UP
Rite Aid (NYSE:
RAD
) traded up 10.59 percent to $1.15 after posting a solid earnings
report Thursday morning.
Shares of VIVUS (NASDAQ:
VVUS
) were also up, gaining 4.91 percent to $14.31 after it was
announced that Express Scripts had added Qsymia to its standard
benefits program.
CarMax (NYSE:
KMX
) shares were up as well, rising 8.58 percent to $37.83 after the
company posted a 15 percent increase in profits in its earnings
release this morning.
Equities Trading DOWN
Allscripts Healthcare (NASDAQ:
MDRX
) was among the top stocks falling this morning, trading down
16.20 percent to $8.95 after the company fired its CEO and
announced it would not pursue a sale.
Merck (NYSE:
MRK
) was also down, falling 2.39 percent to $42.62 after the company
announced its HPS-2 THRIVE study did not meet its primary
endpoint.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:
BBBY
) were down as well, dropping 8.76 percent to $55.00 following
some poor guidance after the close Thursday and a downgrade at
Bank of America.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.23 percent to $89.30, while
gold traded down 0.97 percent to $1,650.40.
Silver traded down 1.67 percent Wednesday to $31.32.
Eurozone
European markets fell earlier this morning, pushed down by
continuing fears over the US fiscal cliff, lead down by the
Spanish Ibex and Italian MIB index.
Economics
In economic news Thursday morning, initial jobless claims were
reported at 361 thousand, slightly above the anticipated 361
thousand and well above the prior report of 343 thousand.
Continuing claims were also reported, coming in at 3.225
million, above the expected 3.205 million, and the prior release
of 3.198 million.
GDP price index came in at 2.7 percent, in line with
expectations and the last report, while GDP quarter over quarter
came in at 3.1 percent, above the expected 2.8 percent and the
last report of 2.7 percent.
Existing home sales came in at 5.9 percent, well above the
anticipated 2.3 percent and the prior report of 1.5 percent.
Personal consumption was out as well, coming in at 1.6 percent,
beating the projected and prior figure of 1.4 percent.
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