Mid-Day Market Update: Joy Global Drops On Earnings Miss; Methode Electronics Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.33 percent to 16,405.76 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.77 percent to 4,786.68. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.35 percent to 1,955.74.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Thursday, energy shares climbed by 1.62 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Comstock Resources Inc CRK, up 20 percent, and Basic Energy Services, Inc BAS, up 7 percent.

Healthcare shares rose by just 0.6 percent in Thursday’s trading. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included BioSpecifics Technologies Corp. BSTC, down 5 percent, and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals KERX, off 10 percent.

Top Headline

Campbell Soup Company CPB reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter.

The Camden, New Jersey-based company reported quarterly net income of $68 million, or $0.22 per share, compared to $137 million, or $0.43 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company’s adjusted earnings increased to $0.43 per share from $0.41 per share.

Its sales slipped 9 percent to $1.693 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.69 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Millennial Media, Inc. MM shares shot up 29 percent to $1.73 after AOL, Inc. AOL announced its plans to acquire Millenial Media for $1.75 per share Of Millennial common stock.

Shares of Methode Electronics Inc. MEI got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $32.99 after the company reported upbeat Q1 earnings.

Greif, Inc. GEF shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $34.03 after the company reported upbeat Q3 earnings and raised its FY15 earnings outlook.

Equities Trading DOWN

Joy Global Inc. JOY shares tumbled 17 percent to $18.36 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal first quarter and lowered its forecast for the year.

Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. CVGW were down 11 percent to $51.60. Calavo Growers reported Q3 earnings of $0.54 per share on revenue of $232.45 million.

Five Below Inc FIVE was down, falling 8 percent to $34.90 after the company reported downbeat revenue for the second quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter. However, the company reported in-line earnings for the second quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.16 percent to $47.71, while gold traded down 0.85 percent to $1,124.00.

Silver traded up 0.02 percent Thursday to $14.67, while copper rose 2.58 percent to $2.39.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 2.78 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.73 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 3.03 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 3.20 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 2.89 percent, while U.K. shares rose 2.10 percent.

Economics

The U.S. trade deficit dropped 7.4 percent to $41.9 billion in July, versus economists’ expectations for a deficit of $41.8 billion. Exports climbed 0.4 percent to $188.5 billion in July, while imports slipped 1.1 percent to $230.4 billion.

U.S. jobless claims increased 12,000 to 282,000 in the week ended August 29. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 271,000.

The Markit services PMI climbed to 56.10 in August, versus a prior reading of 55.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 55.20.

The ISM non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 59.00 in August, versus a previous reading of 60.30. Economists were projecting a reading of 58.10.

Supplies of natural gas climbed 94 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 28, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 83 billion cubic feet to 87 billion cubic feet.