THURSDAY'S MARKET: Here's What Happened

Stocks enjoyed a positive day Thursday, I believe for one and only one reason. Leading Economic Indicators were reported up better than expected in January. That was enough to put out the fire started by Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) with its disappointing guidance for the current fiscal year. Enjoy it while you can, because tomorrow likely brings yet another poor housing data point. Read more about Wal-Mart here.

U.S. Markets

Market ETF	February 19	YTD	Last 12 Mos.
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+0.6%	-0.3%	+21.6%
SPDR Dow Jones (NYSE: DIA)	+0.5%	-2.5%	+16.2%
PowerShares (Nasdaq: QQQ)	+0.5%	+2.4%	+34.0%
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD)	+1.1%	+9.9%	-15.7%
iShares US Real Estate (NYSE: IYR)	-0.2%	+7.1%	-0.8%
United States Oil (NYSE: USO)	+0.0%	+4.5%	+8.0%
PowerShares DB US$  Bullish (NYSE: UUP)	+0.1%	+0.1%	-2.7%
PIMCO Total Return ETF (NYSE: BOND)	-0.1%	+1.5%	-2.8%

Stocks celebrated the good economic data today. Gold moved higher thanks to the lack of any inflation signs in the CPI report today. It means the coast is clear for the Fed to back off tapering if it needs to.

International Markets

EUROPE	CLOSE	ASIA/PACIFIC	CLOSE
EURO STOXX 50	+0.0%	NIKKEI 225	-2.1%
FTSE 100	+0.2%	Hang Seng	-1.2%
CAC 40	+0.3%	S&P/ASX 200	+0.1%
German DAX	-0.4%	Korean KOSPI	-0.6%
Athens ASE	-0.5%	BSE India SENSEX	-0.9%

Economic Data

THURSDAY’S ECONOMIC REPORT SCHEDULE
Economic Data Point	Prior	Expected	Actual
THURSDAY
Japan Trade Data
Consumer Price Index (Jan.)	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
-Core CPI	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%
PMI Mfg. Index Flash (Feb.)	53.7	53.5	56.7
Weekly Jobless Claims	339K	335K	336K
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort	-30.7		-30.6
EIA Natural Gas Report	-237 Bcf		-250 Bcf
EIA Petroleum Status
-Crude Oil Inventory	+3.3 MB		+1.0 MB
-Gasoline Inventory	-1.9 MB		+0.3 MB
Philly Fed Index (Feb.)	9.4	8.0	-6.3
Leading Economic Indicators	0.0%	0.2%	0.3%

The data was mostly mixed today, but what mattered most proved positive. Leading Economic Indicators exceeded expectations and were absolutely strong in the otherwise questionable month of January. Also, inflation was nonexistent in the CPI report, so the Fed has freedom to act if the economy is truly hampered by more than weather.

Commodity Markets

WTI Crude	-0.4%
Brent Crude	-0.0%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+1.8%
RBOB Gasoline	+1.1%
Gold Spot	+0.7%
COMEX Silver	-0.3%
COMEX Copper	-0.2%
CBOT Corn	+0.4%
CBOT Wheat	+0.0%
CBOT Soybeans	+0.4%
ICE Cocoa	+1.4%
ICE Sugar	-1.0%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	+2.6%
CME Lumber	-0.5%
CME Live Cattle	+0.1%

Look at natural gas prices, still rising after yesterday’s sharp spike. Orange juice as well is running cold due to the cold front headed eastward.

Stock Activity

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) offered disappointing news today, worthy of burning incense to calm nerves today. In short, the company offered up EPS meeting its recently lowered guidance, but then produced lower guidance for FY 2015 (January). This is troubling news not just for Wal-Mart, but for the economy. The store chain is such an important retailer nationally that what happens to it can be a sign of something larger.

EPS REPORTS
Company	Ticker
THURSDAY
51job	Nasdaq: JOBS
Acacia Research	Nasdaq: ACTG
Actavis	NYSE: ACT
AerCap	NYSE: AER
Alexander & Baldwin	Nasdaq: ALEX
Allscripts Healthcare	Nasdaq: MDRX
Anadigics	Nasdaq: ANAD
Aruba Networks	Nasdaq: ARUN
Autobytel	Nasdaq: ABTL
Aviv REIT	Nasdaq: AVIV
Bill Barrett	NYSE: BBG
Blucora	Nasdaq: BCOR
BlueLinx	NYSE: BXC
Brady	NYSE: BRC
Builders FirstSource	Nasdaq: BLDR
Cabot Oil & Gas	NYSE: COG
Cedar Fair	NYSE: FUN
Century Aluminum	Nasdaq: CENX
Chesapeake Lodging Trust	Nasdaq: CHSP
Cincinnati Bell	NYSE: CBB
Clayton Williams Energy	Nasdaq: CWEI
Clear Channel Outdoor	NYSE: CCO
Cogent Communications	Nasdaq: CCOI
Colony Financial	Nasdaq: CLNY
CommScope	Nasdaq: COMM
Consolidated Edison	NYSE: ED
CryoLife	NYSE: CRY
Curis	Nasdaq: CRIS
Cvent	NYSE: CVT
CVR Energy	NYSE: CVI
CVR Partners	NYSE: UAN
CVR Refining	Nasdaq: CVRR
Cyberonics	Nasdaq: CYBX
Dana Holding	NYSE: DAN
Datalink	Nasdaq: DTLK
Denbury Resources	NYSE: DNR
DexCom	Nasdaq: DXCM
DirecTV	NYSE: DTV
Dynagas LNG	Nasdaq: DLNG
Ehealth	Nasdaq: EHTH
EMC Insurance Group	Nasdaq: EMCI
Ensco	NYSE: ESV
Envestnet	NYSE: ENV
Exact Sciences	Nasdaq: EXAS
Exelixis	Nasdaq: EXEL
Express Scripts	Nasdaq: ESRX
Extra Space Storage	NYSE: EXR
Federal-Mogul	Nasdaq: FDML
Financial Engines	Nasdaq: FNGN
First Potomac Realty	NYSE: FPO
Five Star Quality Care	NYSE: FVE
Fleetmatics	Nasdaq: FLTX
FTI Consulting	NYSE: FCN
Gaming & Leisure	Nasdaq: GLPI
Gibraltar	Nasdaq: ROCK
Grand Canyon Education	Nasdaq: LOPE
Groupon	Nasdaq: GRPN
Hansen Medical	Nasdaq: HNSN
Harsco	NYSE: HSC
Heritage-Crystal Clean	Nasdaq: HCCI
Hewlett-Packard	NYSE: HPQ
Holly Energy Partners	NYSE: HEP
Hormel Foods	NYSE: HRL
HSN	Nasdaq: HSNI
ICG Group	Nasdaq: ICGE
ICON	Nasdaq: ICLR
Iconix Brand	Nasdaq: ICON
Idacorp	NYSE: IDA
Immersion	Nasdaq: IMMR
Impax Laboratories	Nasdaq: IPXL
Inland Real Estate	NYSE: IRC
InterDigital	Nasdaq: IDCC
Internap Network Services	Nasdaq: INAP
Intuit	Nasdaq: INTU
Invesco Mortgage Capital	NYSE: IVR
IPC The Hospitalist	Nasdaq: IPCM
iStar Financial	Nasdaq: STAR
Kindred Healthcare	NYSE: KND
KVH Industries	Nasdaq: KVHI
Leap Wireless	Nasdaq: LEAP
Lexington Realty Trust	NYSE: LXP
Life Time Fitness	NYSE: LTM
LoJack	Nasdaq: LOJN
LTC Properties	NYSE: LTC
Marvell Technology	Nasdaq: MRVL
Mattson Technology	Nasdaq: MTSN
Mavenir Systems	Nasdaq: MVNR
Maxwell Technologies	Nasdaq: MXWL
Merge Healthcare	Nasdaq: MRGE
Mohawk Industries	NYSE: MHK
Montage Technology	Nasdaq: MONT
MRC Global	NYSE: MRC
National CneMedia	Nasdaq: NCMI
Newmont Mining	NYSE: NEM
Nordstrom	NYSE: JWN
Patrick Industries	Nasdaq: PATK
Patterson Cos.	Nasdaq: PDCO
PDC Energy	Nasdaq: PDCE
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	NYSE: PEB
Pharmacyclics	Nasdaq: PCYC
Premiere Global Services	NYSE: PGI
Priceline	Nasdaq: PCLN
ProAssurance	NYSE: PRA
Public Service Enterprise	NYSE: PEG
Public Storage	NYSE: PSA
Qlik Technologies	Nasdaq: QLIK
Quanta Services	NYSE: PWR
Radio One	Nasdaq: ROIAK
RAIT Financial Trust	NYSE: RAS
Reliance Steel & Aluminum	NYSE: RS
SCANA	NYSE: SCG
Select Income REIT	NYSE: SIR
Select Medical	NYSE: SEM
Shutterstock	Nasdaq: SSTK
SJW	NYSE: SJW
Sonus Networks	Nasdaq: SONS
State Auto Financial	Nasdaq: STFC
Sun Communities	NYSE: SUI
Sunstone Hotel Investors	NYSE: SHO
Symmetry Medical	NYSE: SMA
Syneron Medical	Nasdaq: ELOS
Teekay	NYSE: TK
Teekay LNG Partners	NYSE: TGP
Teekay Offshore Partners	NYSE: TOO
Teekay Tankers	NYSE: TNK
Titan International	NYSE: TWI
Tornier	Nasdaq: TRNX
Toro	NYSE: TTC
TriMas	NYSE: TRS
UIL Holdings	NYSE: UIL
Ultra Petroleum	NYSE: UPL
Universal Electronics	Nasdaq: UEIC
Valmont	NYSE: VMI
Vocera	Nasdaq: VCRA
WageWorks	Nasdaq: WAGE
Wal-Mart	NYSE: WMT
Walter Energy	NYSE: WLT
Washington Real Estate	NYSE: WRE
WebMD	Nasdaq: WBMD
West Marine	Nasdaq: WMAR
West Pharmaceutical Services	NYSE: WST
Westlake Chemical	NYSE: WLK
World Wrestling Entertainment	NYSE: WWE
Xenoport	Nasdaq: XNPT
Yandex	Nasdaq: YNDX

TODAY’S MOST ACTIVE STOCKS
BIGGEST GAINERS	% Gain
Microvision (Nasdaq: MVIS)	+98%
Supertel Hospitality (Nasdaq: SPPR)	+51%
JetPay Corp. (Nasdaq: JTPY)	+43%
United Online (Nasdaq: UNTD)	+29%
Marchex (Nasdaq: MCHX)	+24%
Northwest Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: NWBOW)	+24%
LoJack (Nasdaq: LOJN)	+21%
Applied Optoelectronics (Nasdaq: AAOI)	+20%
Seanergy Maritime (Nasdaq: SHIP)	+19%
Portfolio Recovery (Nasdaq: PRAA)	+18%
BIGGEST LOSERS	% Drop
Conns Inc. (Nasdaq: CONN)	-43%
Onconova Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ONTX)	-37%
Rubicon Minerals (NYSE: RBY)	-20%
Blackhawk Network (Nasdaq: HAWK)	-20%
Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP)	-20%
FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN)	-19%
Town Sports International (Nasdaq: CLUB)	-18%
Employers Holdings (NYSE: EIG)	-15%
Millenial Media (NYSE: MM)	-15%
CryoLife (NYSE: CRY)	-13%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.