Consumer stocks were finishing broadly mixed in Thursday trading, with the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF (XLP) climbing 0.1% while the SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector ETF (XLY) was sinking over 2.0%.
In company news, Calyxt (CLXT) was sinking over 11% late in Thursday trade, giving back an early 7% gain, after the natural food additives company Thursday said it has begun a review of its strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger of all or part of the company among other possible transactions. The company also tapped Canaccord Genuity to assist with the process as its financial advisor.
Steelcase (SCS) slumped almost 10% after the office furniture company late Wednesday missed analyst estimates with its fiscal Q2 sales and projected net income and sales for its current Q3 ending in late November also lagging Wall Street expectations. The company also plans to eliminate up to 180 salaried positions as part of a broader effort to reduce costs by around $20 million per year on top of a 3.1% cut in its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share.
Ball Corp (BALL) fell 8.3% after the beverage packaging company late Wednesday said it completed the $530 million sale of its three manufacturing facilities in Argayash, Naro Fominsk and Vsevolozhsk, Russia, and related assets to the Arnest Group, a Russian home goods, health care and cosmetics conglomerate. Ball in March announced plans to divest those operations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine the previous month.
To the upside, Trip.com Group (TCOM) rose 5% after the travel reservations company overnight reported 4.02 billion renminbi in revenue for its Q2 ended June 30, down nearly 32% from year-ago levels but still exceeding the Wall Street consensus looking for 3.58 billion renminbi in Q2 revenue. Trip.com shares also were getting a boost following a Daiwa Securities upgrade to buy from hold on Thursday coupled with an $8 increase in its price target for the company's shares to $35.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
