U.S. stocks were in negative territory on Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided to increase the interest rate by 25 basis points to between 2.25% and 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 350 points to 22,962, the S&P 500 index slid 1.33% to 2,473 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.65% to 6,527.
Shares of Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR, Financial) jumped almost 3% on Thursday after the company posted second-quarter earnings of 75 cents per share on $652.6 million in revenue, reflecting 7.9% year-over-year growth.The company beat earnings estimates by 4 cents and revenue expectations by $6.93 million.
"Strong demand was a clear highlight of our results as we finished the quarter setting all-time records for quarterly net sales and order levels for our Company” CEO Andi Owen said.
The consolidated gross margin was 36.1%, a decline of 60 basis points from the prior-year quarter due to the adoption of a new revenue recognition standard.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company expects net sales between $615 million and $630 million. It also projects adjusted diluted earnings in the range of 59 cents to 63 cents per share.
Gainers
- HCP Inc. (HCP, Financial)
- Scana Corp. (SCG, Financial)
- Dominion Energy Inc. (D, Financial)
- Duke Energy Corp. (DUK, Financial)
- Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL, Financial)
Losers
- Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG, Financial)
- Helmerich and Payne Inc. (HP, Financial)
- Accenture PLC (ACN, Financial)
- Albemarle Corp. (ALB, Financial)
- Coty Inc. (COTY, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.80%, France's CAC 40 dropped 1.78%, Germany's Dax closed 1.44% lower and Spain's IBEX 35 tumbled 1.97%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.84%, India’s BSE Sensex lost 0.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.94% and China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.52%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
