Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; Dollar General Profit Misses Views

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.14 percent to 25,667.52 while the NASDAQ declined 0.03 percent to 7,641.05. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.10 percent to 2,808.17.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Thursday morning, the energy shares climbed 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. OSG up 12 percent, and Smart Sand, Inc. SND up 12 percent.

In trading on Thursday, materials shares fell 0.8 percent.

Top Headline

Dollar General Corp. DG reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued weak 2019 outlook.

Dollar General reported quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share on sales of $6.65 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.88 per share on sales of $6.61 billion. Its same-store sales increased 4 percent.

Dollar General expects FY19 earnings of $6.30 to $6.50 per share on sales growth of 7 percent year over year. Analysts project earnings of $6.65 per share. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.29 to $0.32 per share and reported a $1 billion buyback plan.

Equities Trading UP

Atossa Genetics Inc ATOS shares got a boost, shooting up 242 percent to $5.16 after the company received FDA approval of oral Endoxifen for 'expanded access' as a post-mastectomy treatment for a US breast cancer patient.

Shares of Smith Micro Software, Inc. SMSI shot up 20 percent to $2.22 after the company reported higher-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.

Akari Therapeutics, Plc AKTX shares were also up, gaining 29 percent to $7.63 after surging 224.18 percent on Wednesday. The company announced a successful Type B, pre-IND meeting with the FDA regarding Akari's proposed pivotal clinical trial program for hematopoietic stem cell transplant-related thrombotic microangiopathy.

Equities Trading DOWN

Tailored Brands, Inc. TLRDN shares dropped 24 percent to $8.83 after the company reported lower-than-expected Q4 sales results.

Shares of Legacy Reserves Inc. LGCY were down 46 percent to $0.7462 after the company announced a review of strategic alternatives; alternatives include a sale or other business combination transaction, sales of assets and financing transactions.

Smart & Final Stores, Inc. SFS was down, falling around 16 percent to $5.26 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.5 percent to $58.54 while gold traded down 1 percent to $1,296.10.

Silver traded down 1.4 percent Thursday to $15.245, while copper fell 1.4 percent to $2.8945.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.7 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.6 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.7 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.4 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.7 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.5 percent.

Economics

Initial jobless claims increased 6,000 to 229,000 in the latest week. However, economists were expecting a 225,000 reading.

The import price index rose 0.6 percent in February, while export prices increased 0.6 percent.

Sales of new U.S. homes fell 6.9 percent in January to an annual rate of 607,000. However, analysts were expecting a 622,000 rate.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.