Afternoon Market Update (SWN, AVNR, SPLS, CTRN)

Shares of Southwestern Energy Co (NYSE: SWN) surged about 4.6% after the company reported a 36% rise in its Q3 earnings. The company's earnings came in at $0.46 per share. SWN's revenue came in at $682.2 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings at $0.45 per share, on revenue of $587 million.

US drug stocks moved down today. However, the shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVNR) jumped about 108% after US FDA gave approval to the company's neurology drug Nuedextra. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) moved down about 0.20%, while the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index (BTK) fell about 0.23%.

US retail stocks moved down after analysts mentioned that retailers may report disappointing same-store sales for October this week. Shares of Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) moved down after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock from “buy” to “neutral.” Shares of Citi Trends Inc (NASDAQ: CTRN) also fell about 1.2% after analysts at J P Morgan downgraded the stock from “overweight” to “neutral.” The S&P Retail Index (RLX) lost about 0.19%.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.