Despite a huge rally for the major indices, technology stole the show Thursday — just not technology stocks.
No, a glitch affecting what the Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) called “quote dissemination” caused the halting of Nasdaq securities shortly after noon. The disruption lasted roughly three hours, and the Nasdaq finished higher along with the rest of Wall Street.
The Nasdaq headed higher by 1.08%, closing at 3638.71, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.86% at 1656.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.44% at 14,963.74.
Nasdaq OMX Group unsurprisingly slipped as soon as trading resumed, finishing down more than 3%.
Tech also took center stage earlier today, as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares fell more than 12% — its worst one-day loss in two years — amid a poor third-quarter earnings report. While adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share were in line with analyst estimates, they were down from $1 a year ago, and revenues also sank 8% year-over-year. Additionally, HPQ indicated it might not see any revenue growth in 2014.
Retailers saw a minor sector rout after Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) put up disappointing second-quarter earnings. ANF sank over 17% on the news, and took teen retailer Aeropostale (ARO) down with it. ARO shed 3.9% during Thursday regular trading, then sank another 9% in early after-hours trading following a wide earnings miss.
Sears Holding (SHLD) missed estimates on both the top and bottom lines for the quarter, and its shares sank more than 8% on the news. Fellow department store chain JCPenney (JCP) announced it had adopted a one-year “poison pill” strategy to ward off investors looking to gain a 10%-plus stake in the company, and declined just under 1%. And Bon-Ton Stores (BONT) finished nearly 12% lower after missing earnings expectations by nearly 13 cents per share.
Video game retailer GameStop (GME) headed the other way, however, jumping more than 9% after announcing earnings and revenues that cleared estimates, as well as boosting its full-year guidance above the consensus estimate.
After the bell, Gap (GAP) was headed 4% higher after announcing a 31% improvement in earnings on an 8% rise in revenue. It also improved its quarterly dividend 33% to 20 cents per share, giving GPS a roughly 1.9% yield on Thursday’s closing price.
Three Up
- Sunedison (SUNE): Up 15.7% ($1.07) to $7.88.
- Walter Energy (WLT): Up 7.4% (89 cents) to $12.90.
- Dryships (DRYS): Up 5.9% (12 cents) to $2.17.
Three Down
- Lightinthebox (LITB): Down 10.4% ($1.16cents) to $9.96.
- Lexmark (LXK): Down 5.9% ($2.33) to $36.87.
- Santarus (SNTS): Down 4.3% ($1.08 cents) to $24.15.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
