U.S. shares traded lower today as investors digested economic data and remained cautious on continued concerns about Greece. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.4 percent to 2,111 at 11:50 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) sank 0.6 percent to 18,025, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) slipped 0.4 percent to 4,518. Most followed shares included Altera, Intel, Splunk, GameStop, Ulta Salon, Big Lots, Genesco, Deckers Outdoor, Heron Therapeutics, and Greif.
In technology stocks, Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) rose 3.5 percent to $48.58 after the New York Post reported that Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was close to buying the chipmaker for about $15 billion. Intel was up 1.1 percent to $34.37. Talks between the two have been widely reported, and a deal is now seen happening by the end of next week.
Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) fell 7 percent to $66.39 after the data analytics software maker posted a bigger quarterly loss, weakened by higher expenses.
In consumer shares, GameStop (NYSE:GME) jumped 7.4 percent to $43.96 as the world's largest retailer of video game products reported better-than-expected profit and revenue, helped by downloads for new videogames and digital games. Net income rose to $73.8 million, or $0.68 per share, in the three months ended May 2, from $68 million, or $0.59 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.2 percent to $2.06 billion, fuelled by a 9.6 percent gain in new software sales and exceeding estimates of $2.02 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of $0.59 per share on revenue of $2.01 billion.
Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ:ULTA) fluctuated and was last down 0.7 percent at $155.18. The cosmetics retailer beat estimates by 11 cents with quarterly profit of $1.04 per share, and revenue was also above forecasts. Ulta saw increases in market share across all its categories.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 0.7 percent to $429.63. The Seattle, Washington-based company is preparing to broadly expand its fledgling lineup of private-label brands to include an array of grocery items such as milk, cereal, and baby food as well as household cleaners, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) dropped 1.5 percent to $44.40 after the discount retailer guided for current-quarter earnings below market expectations. The company reported quarterly profit of 60 cents per share, 1 cent above estimates, with revenue in line with forecasts.
Genesco (NYSE:GCO) dropped 4.5 percent to $64.50 as the footwear and apparel retailer fell 16 cents shy of estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 51 cents per share, with revenue also missing forecasts. Genesco pointed to West Coast port-related delays and gross margin pressure, although it does say the current quarter is off to a good start with a 7 percent increase in same-store sales. Genesco also cut its full-year forecast.
Deckers Outdoor (NYSE:DECK) slumped 4.9 percent to $67.68. The maker of UGG boots gave a below-consensus forecast for the current quarter while raising its earnings projections for the full year. The Goleta, California-based company earned $0.04 per share for its most recent quarter, beating consensus estimates for a break-even quarter. Deckers also saw its revenue beat estimates.
In other stocks, Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) surged 46 percent to $18.00 after the company's nausea drug met the main goal in a late-stage trial.
Greif (NYSE:GEF) tumbled 10.2 percent to $37.51 after the producer of industrial packaging products and services cut its outlook for the year, citing projected lower volumes in North America and the effect of the stronger dollar.