Stocks are off their early lows but still negative this morning. Worries about China’s economy and the euro zone offset jobless claims hitting a four-year low. China’s manufacturing sector activity fell in March marking the fifth-straight monthly decline. The euro zone’s composite PMI also showed slowing manufacturing activity especially in France and Germany.
Closer to home, the jobs market continues to improve. Weekly jobless claims fell 5,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 348,000. This is a new four-year low for jobless claims according to the Labor Department. Economists were expecting jobless claims to jump slightly to 354,000.
The major stock indices are down anywhere between 0.3% and 0.5% this morning. The Dow is down 49 points, the Nasdaq is down 9 points and the S&P 500 is down 7 points.
NASDAQ Stocks to Watch
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) is up 10.85% this morning at $7.65. SWHC is up on heavy volume today with 2 million shares traded so far, well above its daily average of 931 thousand shares. Smith & Wesson shares are rallying alongside its rivals today after Sturm, Ruger & Co. announced it has stopped taking new orders due to overwhelming demand. The company has a market cap of 503.52 million.
Galena Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:GALE) is up 8.66% today at $3.00. GALE has traded 12.3 million shares already today, well above its daily average of 1.6 million shares. Galena shares have rallied more than $1 a share over the past few days on news. Galena Biopharma added a renowned breast cancer physician to its scientific advisory board. The company also received notice of allowance patent for NeuVax. The company has a market cap of 130.67 million.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) is up 2.22% today at $41.99. OPEN has traded 471 thousand shares this morning and trades 1.1 million shares a day on average. OPEN shares have been rallying after an analyst with Benchmark upgraded the company to buy from hold and said worries about the company’s competition increasing are ‘overblown.’ The company has a market cap of 948.95 million.
TearLab Corporation (NASDAQ:TEAR) is up 13.33% this morning at $3.06. TEAR has traded 257 thousand shares so far today, nearly double its daily average. TearLab reported quarterly results earlier this morning. Net revenue for the quarter ending December 31 as $499 thousand. The company posted a net loss of $3.5 million or $0.17 per share. The company has a market cap of 64.10 million.
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) is down 10.51% today at $1.57. FCEL has traded 3.3 million shares so far today, 1 million shares more than its daily average. Fuelcell shares are down today after the company priced $30 million public offering of stock at $1.50. The company has a market cap of 227.09 million.
Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ:GOLD) is down 8.59% this morning at $94.61. GOLD has traded 1.4 million shares a day on average, nearly 3 times its daily average. Randgold stock fell today after news reports of a coup in Mail. Randgold reportedly has two-thirds of its mining assets in Mali. The company did release a statement saying its operations were unaffected by the coup. The company has a market cap of 8.56 billion.
About Kyle Pinder
