Afternoon Market Update

Shares of Northern Trust Corp (NASDAQ: NTRS) gained about 4% after the UK's Daily Mail report. According to the report, HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) is likely to make an offer of $65 per share for NTRS. HSBC recently withdrew a plan of purchasing a stake in Nedbank Group. The board of directors of...

US financial stocks moved up after SunTrust Banks Inc (NYSE: STI) surged on reporting quarterly profit. Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) and Huntington Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ: HBAN) also gained more than 4%, after posting y/y rise in their quarterly results. The top decliners in the...

The US dollar moved down as US stocks increased their gains today. Analysts at Action Economics said, "The firmer Wall Street open has weighed on the greenback, while talk of more 'open-ended' QE2 has perhaps weighed." The dollar index declined 1.34% to 77.13, down from 78.041 late Tuesday. Shares...

Shares of Supervalu Inc (NYSE: SVU) dipped about 11.5% after the company lowered its FY11 projections for profit and sales at stores open one year., SVU projects its earnings, excluding charges, at $1.40 to $1.60 per share, down from its earlier forecast of $1.75 to $1.95 per share. The company's...

The US dollar trimmed gains after the surprise drop in US industrial production in September. The dollar index rose 0.13% to 77.14, down from 77.645 earlier. The US dollar remained under pressure against the Japanesse yen and fell about 0.2089% against the yen. The Financial Select Sector SPDR...

According to the data, the US trade deficit expanded sharply in August, due to rise in imports from China into US at a record rate. The Commerce Department mentioned that the country's trade deficit widened 8.8% in August to $46.3 billion, up from $42.6 billion in July. However, analysts were...

US retail shares were mixed, as the shares of Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) dropped about 3.25% after the analysts at JMP Securities downgraded the company from "outperform" to "market perform." The gainers in the list include Saks Inc (NYSE: SKS) and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT). The S&P Retail Index (...

Gold futures moved down as the US dollar rebounded from its 8-month low. Gold for December delivery lost about 0.44% to 1,348 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), after reaching $1,356.30 in the earlier session. The dollar index (DXY) is up about 0.28%. Shares of...

US Financial stocks moved down. Shares of Charles Schwab Corp (NASDAQ: SCHW) fell about 2.57% and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) moved down about 1.74%. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is set to report its Q3 results on Wednesday. The Financial Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLF...

Shares of F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ: FFIV) lost about 6% after the analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the company from “neutral” to “sell.” Shares of FFIV have jumped 86.86% so far this year. Goldman Sachs said, "Our analysis suggests that almost 85% of F5 Network's growth has been driven by the...

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) moved up about 0.26% after the Labor Department reported better-than-expected data on US jobless claims. Shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) moved up after analysts at Oppenheimer initiated coverage of FITB with an “outperform” rating. Shares of...

US Energy stocks rose again, after posting healthy gains in the earlier session. The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI) gained about 0.37%, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG) moved up about 0.23%. However, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX) fell about 0.07%. Shares of Diamond Foods Inc (...

Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) announced its plans to close two more stores, which will take the number of stores shut in FY10 to 7. The company said that it will shut down its Saks Fifth Avenue store in Southampton and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH in Reno on January 1. The Federal Reserve Bank of New...

According to the Commerce Department, the US factory orders declined 0.5% in August. The National Association of Realtors reported a rise of 4.3% in the August pending home sales in the US. Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) from “outperform” to “market perform.”...

Shares of MedQuist Inc (NASDAQ: MEDQ) surged after the company announced to pay a special dividend of $4.70 per share to its shareholders, as of record on October 11. The company is likely to pay the dividend on October 15. MEDQ has also signed financing agreements worth $310 million. MEDQ shares...