Jobs Don’t Provide Much Jolt — Thursday IP Market Recap

by Alyssa Oursler | October 11, 2012 5:08 pm

[1]Thursday kicked off with a little bit of good news on the employment front. While economists had been expecting an increase in jobless claims, first-time claims actually dropped 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000 — the lowest since February 2008.

The markets jumped on the news early but the boost fizzled by day’s end. The S&P 500 was the only index that managed to break the week’s losing streak, eking out a measly 0.02% gain to 1,432.84. The Nasdaq fell 0.08% to end at 3,049.38, while the Dow followed its triple-digit Wednesday loss with a drop of 0.03% to 13,341.13. The major indices remain on pace for their biggest weekly drop in four months.

Grocer Safeway (NYSE:SWY[2]) continued earnings season Thursday morning, with profits beating estimates[3] but revenue falling slightly. Investors were unimpressed and sent shares down nearly 4% on the day. Winnebago Industrials (NYSE:WGO[4]) shares also slipped marginally on news that it missed earnings estimates.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR[5]) also took a hit after announcing that its Q3 earnings should come in near the lower end of its forecast. Shares sunk around 8%.

The day wasn’t without its silver lining, though.

IPOs were a bright spot, for one, as a few stormed onto the market. Online photo marketplace Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK[6]) gained more than 27%[7], leading residential real-estate services company Realogy (NYSE:RLGY[8]) climbed around 25%[9], and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KYTH[10]) — focusing on a drug to reduce double chins[11] — gained around 22% in its debut. Including the 29% jump by Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT[12]), Thursday marked the first time in a dozen years that four public offerings each gained 20%[13] on their first day of trading.

Sprint (NYSE:S[14]) soared on the day, jumping 14% on the news that Japan’s Softbank[15] is looking to make a substantial investment, or possibly an acquisition, of the company. The move could help the No. 3 telecom provider as it struggles to compete with AT&T (NYSE:T[16]) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ[17]).

Coal stocks continued to climb on an analyst’s prediction of an uptick in Chinese demand[18]. James River Coal (NASDAQ:JRCC[19]), Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR[20]) and Arch Coal (NYSE:ANI[21]) led the way with gains over 15%, while Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU[22]) and Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX[23]) were each in the black around 8%.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS[24]), which climbed around 8% Wednesday, also continued to surge thanks to its record number of pre-orders for the Nook HD. Shares gained another 8%, boosting its year-to-date gains into double digits.

Finally, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn offered to buy specialty vehicle maker Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK[25]) for around $3 billion, sending shares upward to the tune of more than 11%. Icahn already is the company’s largest investor with a 9.5% stake.

Three Up

• Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR[26]): Up 70.8% (92 cents) to $2.22.
• Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE:TC[27]): Up 11.1% (28 cents) to $2.80.
• J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP[28]): Up 8.4% ($2.03) to $26.18.

Three Down

• KIT Digital (NASDAQ:KITD[29]): Down 10.2% (24 cents) to $2.12.
• Stillwater Mining (NYSE:SWC[30]): Down 9.1% ($1.10) to $11.02.
• Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU[31]): Down 5.9% (18 cents) to $2.89.

Alyssa Oursler is an Editorial Assistant at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, she did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/10/jobs-dont-provide-much-jolt-thursday-ip-market-recap/

---