The stock market has given up most of its early gains this morning after a rise in weekly jobless claims and poor existing home sales numbers. Initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped 34,000 to 386,000 last week according to the Labor Department. Unemployment data is notoriously volatile in July because of auto plants retooling.
Existing home sales fell more than 5% in June, but prices did rise. Median prices for a home resale rose nearly 8% in June from the previous year to $189,400.
While the major indexes are still positive this morning they are off their highs. The Dow is currently trading up 15 points, the Nasdaq up 21 points and the S&P 500 up 3 points.
Hot Stocks
pSividia Corp (NASDAQ:PSDV) is up 37.77% this morning at $2.95. PSDV has traded 953 thousand shares so far today, well above its daily average of 65 thousand shares. PSDV shares are up today on news the company will move to late-stage trials for its eye device. The company has a market cap of 61.78 million.
Select Comfort Corporation (NASDAQ:SCSS) is up 28.48% today at $27.97. SCSS has traded 3.08 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 1.9 million shares. SCSS shares are rallying today thanks to strong sales in the second quarter. The company has a market cap of 1.57 billion.
New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE:EDU) is up 28% this morning at $12.16. EDU has traded 18.5 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 1.7 million shares a day on average. EDU shares are up today after the company responded to a Muddy Waters report rejecting the report’s allegations. The company has a market cap of 1.88 billion.
OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCZ) is up 19.76% today at $5.46. OCZ has traded 4.2 million shares so far today, well above its daily average. OCZ shares are rallying today on reports that Seagate is looking into a potential acquisition of OCZ Technology. The company has a market cap of 368.02 million.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) is up 10.78% this morning at $34.31. WAG has traded 30.5 million shares so far today, nearly 4 times its daily average volume. WAG shares are up today after Walgreen and Express Scripts sign new agreement. The company has a market cap of 29.20 billion.
Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) is up 9.81% today at $26.09. TXT has traded 3.7 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 2.8 million shares. TXT shares are up today as earnings beat Wall Street estimates. The company has a market cap of 7.30 billion.
About Kyle Pinder
