US stocks turned lower in another volatile trading session on Thursday despite stronger-than-expected GDP data. The country’s economy grew 6.9% on quarter during the last three months of previous year, up from 2.3% expansion in the prior quarter and also above market estimates of 5.5%.
Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.15% to 34,116.75 while the NASDAQ fell 1.16% to 13,384.57. The S&P also fell, dropping, 0.52% to 4,327.13.
Also check out these big insider trades here
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Communication services shares jumped 0.9% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included DouYu International Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: DOYU), up 13% and Partner Communications Company Ltd. (NASDAQ: PTNR) up 6%.
In trading on Thursday, consumer discretionary shares fell 1.1%.
Top Headline
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
McDonald’s reported earnings of $2.23 per share, missing the consensus of $2.34 per share. Net sales came in at $6.01 billion, versus the consensus of $6.03 billion.
Equities Trading UP
The National Security Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSEC) shares shot up 71% to $15.40 after VR Insurance announced acquisition of the company.
Shares of LSI Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LYTS) got a boost, shooting 13% to $6.76 following upbeat Q2 earnings.
Galapagos NV (NASDAQ: GLPG) shares were also up, gaining 22% to $65.18. Galapagos announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Stoffels as chief executive officer, effective April 1, 2022. Previously, Stoffels was vice chairman of the committee and chief scientific officer of Johnson & Johnson, where he spearheaded the company’s research and product pipeline.
Check out insider buying in these penny stocks
Equities Trading DOWN
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLWS) shares tumbled 28% to $15.11 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results. 1-800-Flowers sees FY22 revenue growth of 7% – 9%.
Shares of Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) were down 27% to $104.25 after the company issued Q1 EPS and sales guidance below estimates.
Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) was down, falling 46% to $1,350 after the company priced an underwritten public offering of 56,666,667 shares at $1.50 per share, before underwriting discounts.
Also check out these insider trades in penny stocks here
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.6% to $86.87, while gold traded down 2% to $1,792.30.
Silver traded down 4.9% Thursday to $22.635 while copper fell 2% to $4.4235.
Have a look at insider trading in penny stocks
Euro zone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.65%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.13%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 1%. The German DAX gained 0.42%, French CAC 40 climbed 0.60% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.99%.
Italy’s industrial sales climbed 2.4% in November, while Spanish unemployment rate dropped to 13.33% in the fourth quarter from 14.57% in the prior three-month period. The GfK Consumer Climate Indicator in Germany rose to -6.7 heading into February versus a revised reading of -6.9 in January.
UK’s car exports dropped 15.4% from a year ago to 46,219 units in December, while car production fell 12.7% to 62,310 units.
Economics
US durable goods orders fell 0.9% month-over-month in December.
The US economy grew 6.9% on quarter during the last three months of previous year, up from 2.3% expansion in the prior quarter and also above market estimates of 5.5%.
US initial jobless claims dropped by 30 thousand from the prior period to 260 thousand during the week ending January 22.
The pending home sales index dropped 3.8% in December.
US natural-gas supplies dipped 219 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said.
The Kansas City Fed’s manufacturing production index climbed to 20 in January versus a revised reading of 11 in the prior month.
Check out the full economic calendar here
COVID-19 Update
The US has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 74,176,400 cases with around 898,680 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 40,371,500 cases and 491,720 deaths, while Brazil reported over 24,553,950 COVID-19 cases with 624,500 deaths. In total, there were at least 363,693,130 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 5,647,470 deaths.
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.