Conversant Shares Rise On Acquisition News; Health Care REIT Drops
Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.41 percent to 16,979.45 while the NASDAQ declined 0.45 percent to 4,571.27. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.54 percent to 1,986.63.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell by just 0.30 percent in trading on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance NASDAQ: (ULTA), up 18.6 percent, and 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS), up 4.6 percent.
In trading on Friday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.13 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Warren Resources (NASDAQ: WRES), down 5.2 percent, and SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL), off 4.8 percent.
Top Headline
Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) reported better-than-expected fiscal first quarter earnings.
The Orlando, Florida-based company reported a quarterly loss of $19.3 million, or $0.14 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $42.2 million, or $0.32 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $0.32 per share.
Its sales surged to $1.6 billion versus $1.53 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $1.6 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Conversant (NASDAQ: CNVR) shares shot up 30.34 percent to $34.81 after Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) announced its plans to buy Conversant for $35 per share.
Shares of ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ: ULTA) got a boost, shooting up 18.72 percent to $115.73 after the company reported upbeat second-quarter results and raised its outlook.
Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) shares were also up, gaining 2.07 percent to $28.33. Hertz Global averted a proxy contest with Carl C. Icahn for control of its board by agreeing in principle to name three directors approved by the activist investor.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Ruckus Wireless (NASDAQ: RKUS) were down 5.09 percent to $14.36. Buckingham Research downgraded Ruckus Wireless from Buy to Neutral and raised the price target from $15.00 to $16.00.
Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN) shares tumbled 3.91 percent to $63.89 after the company priced 15,500,000 shares of common stock at $63.75 per share.
Amarin Corporation plc (NASDAQ: AMRN) was down, falling 21.55 percent to $1.42 following an update on ANCHOR trial SPA deal rescission appeal.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.38 percent to $93.18, while gold traded down 0.44 percent to $1,233.60.
Silver traded up 0.27 percent Friday to $18.65, while copper rose 0.19 percent to $3.10.
Eurozone
European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.02 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.10 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.41 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.02 percent while UK shares climbed 0.12 percent.
Economics
US retail sales rose 0.6% in August, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6% gain.
US import price index fell 0.9% in August, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.0% decline.
The preliminary reading of Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 84.60 in September, versus a prior reading of 82.50. However, economists were expecting a reading of 83.30.
US business inventories rose 0.40% in July, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.40% gain.
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