Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 25,691.67 while the NASDAQ declined 0.1 percent to 7,636.03. The S&P fell 0.13 percent to 2,807.33.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Thursday afternoon, the information technology shares climbed 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included MongoDB, Inc. MDB 27.06% up 26 percent, and Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. PRTH 12.74% up 13 percent.
In trading on Thursday, materials shares fell 0.7 percent.
Top Headline
Dollar General Corp. DG 7.7% 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 272.84% shares got a boost, shooting up 253 percent to $5.33 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 26.49% shot up 28 percent to $2.39 after the company reported higher-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.
Mongodb Inc MDB 27.06% shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $130.80 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results. The company also issued Q1 EPS and sales guidance above analyst estimates.
Equities Trading DOWN
Tailored Brands, Inc. TLRD 23.97% shares dropped 23 percent to $9.05 after the company reported lower-than-expected Q4 sales results. The company also reported comps at Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank were down.
Shares of Legacy Reserves Inc. LGCY 54.67% were down 51 percent to $0.6768 after the company announced a review of strategic alternatives; alternatives include a sale or other business combination transaction, sales of assets and financing transactions.
FTD Companies, Inc. FTD 22.91% was down, falling around 24 percent to $1.2450 after the company reported Q4 sales of $247.5 million, down from $278.1 million last year, and cut FY19 sales and EBITDA guidance.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.5 percent to $58.52 while gold traded down 1 percent to $1,295.90.
Silver traded down 1.7 percent Thursday to $15.20, while copper fell 1.5 percent to $2.8925.
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.78 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.19 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.62 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.13 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.82 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.37 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.
Domestic supplies of natural gas dropped 204 billion cubic feet for the week ended March 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a decline of 208 billion cubic feet.
Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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