Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Lower; HP Writes Off $8.8B on Autonomy

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.18 percent to 12,773.02 while the NASDAQ fell 0.02 percent to 2,915.49. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.03 percent to 1,386.47.

Hewlett Packard

reported earnings this morning, but what caught traders' attention was the $8.8 billion charge for a company it acquired last year -- Autonomy. HP noted that there had been accounting irregularities at Autonomy prior to the acquisition.

Groupon

traded up about 9.50 percent to $3.40 following a disclosure of a large position by hedge fund Tiger Global. Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

traded up 6.92 percent to $29.22 after the company named Brian Kelley, formerly of Coca-Cola, as its new CEO. Hovnanian Enterprises

rose 5.19 percent to $5.21 after positive housing market data was released.

Best Buy

traded down 13.67 percent to $11.87 following a poor earnings report this morning. Cliffs Natural Resources

traded down 7.08 percent to $32.21 after Goldman Sachs cut the company's rating to Sell. Shares of Nuance Communications

fell 3.85 percent to $20.74 after posting some poor guidance late Monday.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.93 percent to $88.45, while gold traded down 0.10 percent to $1,732.70. Silver traded down 0.07 percent Tuesday to $33.11.

In the Eurozone, markets were largely down following the Moody's downgrade of France to Aa1. Later today, Eurozone leaders will meet to discuss the Greek bailout package and possibly make a decision on the matter. Many leaders are less than optimistic that a decision will be made, including the EU's Juncker.

In economic news, building permits came in at 866 thousand, slightly above the expected 864 thousand but below the prior report of 890 thousand, while building permits month-over-month were reported at -2.7 percent, better than the expected -2.9 percent, but well below the last report of 11.1 percent. Housing starts were also released, coming in at 894 thousand, well above the expected 840 thousand and the previous release of 863 thousand, while housing starts month over month were reported at 3.6 percent, far above the expected -3.7 percent, but below the last release of 15.1 percent.