Stocks are moving higher as earnings season picks up speed and the job market continues to look strong.
Initial jobless claims increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000, making this the 33rd straight week that new claims have remained below 300,000. The four-week moving average, which smooths out the weekly volatility declined 2,000 to 263,250. Some market watchers are questioning the report due to all the oil industry layoffs, but it can be argued that an energy job layoff might not mean that worker has rushed to the unemployment office.
The S&P 500 is up 14 points to 2,033, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is ahead 130 points to 17,298 and the Nasdaq is moving higher by 37 points to 4,877.
Under Armour stock is trading sideways even though the sports apparel brand delivered its first billion-dollar quarter. Under Armour’s third-quarter revenue rose 28 percent to $1.2 billion, beating analyst’s estimates of $1.18 billion. Net income increased 13 percent to $100.5 million, or 45 cents per share. That’s a big jump over last year’s $89.1 million, or 41 cents a share. It’s all about the shoes since Under Armour’s footwear category jumped 61 percent to $196 million as the company bought more basketball and running shoes to market. The stock is flipping between negative and positive territory in early trading.
Related Galleries
EBay is popping over 10 percent this morning to $26.69 after proving there was life post-PayPal with its earnings. The third-quarter net revenue came in at $2.1 billion, higher than the estimated $2.09 billion. The adjusted earnings per share were 43 cents versus the expected 40 cents. EBay raised its earnings-per-share forecast for the full year to a range of $1.80-$1.82 from $1.72-$1.77. The only black cloud for the company was that the net income fell to $539 million from $673 million last year, although earnings from continuing operations increased. EBay also said it added 8 million new active buyers and while this is a 5 percent increase, it isn’t the double-digit growth that the company used to post.
Lululemon stock is doing the downward dog this morning following Wednesday’s post-market close news that its chief product officer was leaving after only 2 years. Tara Poseley will leave and her position will be eliminated. Instead, there will be a new creative director role filled by Lee Holman. Lululemon is facing even more competition, as new ath-leisure brands seem to launch every month targeting the same clientele. Investors are concerned about the dwindling margins and all these new entrants as Lululemon fights to keep quality high and expand overseas. The stock is dropping more than 1 percent this morning to $51.10.
Urban Outfitters received approval to keep quiet about information it excluded from its most-recently filed quarterly report. The Securities Exchange Commission granted the retailer with an approval of confidential treatment regarding information that Urban Outfitters wants to keep secret. That information can be held as a secret until 2020. American City Business Journals reported that the secret information had to do with a multimillion-dollar investment, but the order does not state what the information was about. The stock is up 2 cents to $28.14.