Morning Spy: Education Winning Big; Markets Look to Hold Ground (ESI, APOL, QPSA, SINA, CIGX, SWM, HGG, CONN, WPO, MSO, JNJ, F, T, VZ, AAPL, GM, KO)

A day after the major averages fell 2.3% and closed at their lows, markets are trading flat on Thursday as data showed that initial jobless claims fell from 428,000 for the week ending May 21 to 422,000 for the week ending May 28.

Today’s Top tickerspy Indexes:

Education Stocks Index is surging 6.7%: The Index is screaming higher this morning after it was reported that a rule that threatens to cut off tuition aid to some programs run by for-profit colleges was softened in the final version issued by the U.S. Education Department, ending a long regulatory process that has clouded growth outlook for education companies. Shares of ITT Educational Services (ESI) were up 25%, while shares of Apollo Group (APOL) are contributing 12%.

Social Networking Stocks were gaining 2.6%: The Index is being lead by Quepasa (QPSA), up 4% after reporting a record 37.5 million users in May. Elsewhere in the Index, SINA (SINA) is up 2%.

Tobacco and Tobacco Product Stocks are advancing 2.3%: Shares of Star Scientific (CIGX) are rebounding 12% today, after falling by as much as 22% in yesterday’s sell off. The only other positive stock in the Index today is Schweitzer-Mauduit Intl (SWM), which is narrowly higher.

Electronics Retailer Stocks Index is up 1.6% today: The Index is having a solid day with HHGregg Inc (HGG) motoring higher, up 3% and Conn’s (CONN) contributing 1%.

Newspaper and Magazine Stocks Index is pushing higher, up 1.6%: Washington Post Co (WPO), the owner of Kaplan University is up 9%. Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omn (MSO) are contributing 3% after Noble Financial said the company could be worth $1 billion.

Today’s Top Market Headlines

J&J’s Prostate Cancer Drug Extends Life While Spurring $5 Billion Market: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has developed the drug Zytiga, the first prostate cancer pill to win U.S. marketing approval in a family of treatments that offer new ways to stymie the male hormones that fuel tumor growth.

Ford Missing Targets Pressures Mulally To Fix Mishaps: Cars: Ford Motor (F), which ranked number one by J.D. Power and Associates last year is expected to have mixed results this year after problems were discovered with the Sync and MyFordTouch technologies.

Copper, Aluminum Drop As Weaker Data Drive Speculation Recovery May Falter: After reports released from the U.S.A, China, and India indicated that its economies have slowed, concerns arose that the global recovery might be stalling, sending commodities lower.

T’s iPhone Advantage: Hudson Sq. Says Buy, Dump VZ: Hudson Square Research sees AT&T (T) outperforming Verizon Communications (VZ), It believes that AT&T will see the most success from the next phone released by Apple (AAPL).

The White House Changes Its Mind On Value Of Auto Bailout: Although the White House accepts the idea of loosing a potential $15 Billion, it argues why the bail out of Ford and General Motors (GM) had to take place.

Coca-Cola Icececk Says Sales Growth To Slow in Second Half : Coca-Cola Icececk, the bottler of Coca-Cola (KO) drinks in ten countries, predicted sales volumes will grow more than 10% this year.

Tags: AAPL, APOL, CIGX, CONN, ESI, F, GM, HGG, JNJ, KO, MSO, QPSA, SINA, SWM, T, VZ, WPO