The second-quarter gross domestic product report out Thursday revealed a 1.4% expansion in the U.S. economy between April and June. That was better than the 1.2% economists expected, but not enough to prop up stocks.
The S&P 500 Index lost 0.93% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.07%. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day 0.93% lower.
Against the backdrop of the GDP report, ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG), NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) were three of Thursday’s best performers.
ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG)
Shares of frozen and packaged foods maker ConAgra Foods — the backend of brands such as Hunt’s ketchup, Chef Boyardee pasta and Banquet frozen meals — jumped 7.3% on volume that was nearly triple the daily average after the company delivered earnings that easily trumped the Street’s estimates.
For the quarter ended Aug. 28, CAG reported earnings of 61 cents a share. Analysts expected CAG to earn 48 cents per share for the quarter. ConAgra said sales fell 4.6% to $2.67 billion. Analysts expected sales of $2.7 billion.
NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI)
Shares of NXP Semiconductors surged 16.9% on more than nine times the usual turnover on reports that Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is eying NXPI for a buyout.
Neither NXPI nor QCOM commented on the speculation, but the Wall Street Journal reports that QCOM could reach a deal for NXPI valuing the latter at $30 billion in the next two to three months.
Acquiring NXPI “would expand Qualcomm’s chip business from dozens of major product lines to hundreds spanning many industries outside mobile devices,” according to the Journal.
QCOM finished higher by 6.3%.
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD)
Online brokerage firm TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. rose almost 5.2% on volume that was more than quadruple the daily average, following reports the company could be interested in acquiring rival Scottrade Financial, which is for sale.
In a note posted by Barron’s, Sandler O’Neil analyst Richard Repetto identified AMTD as a possible suitor for Scottrade along with rivals Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) and E*Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC).
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
