Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Mixed, Tyson Posts Downbeat Profit

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.15 percent to 14,951.15 while the NASDAQ surged 0.17 percent to 3,384.29. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.02 percent to 1,614.77.

Tyson Foods

reported a drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit. Tyson's quarterly profit declined to $95 million, or $0.26 per share, versus $166 million, or $0.44 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.36 per share. Its revenue climbed to $8.42 billion from $8.27 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.45 per share on revenue of $8.59 billion. Tyson projects FY13 sales of around $34.5 billion.

Cliffs Natural Resources

shot up 5.59 percent to $21.02 after FBR Capital Markets upgraded the stock from “market perform” to “outperform.” Shares of Inergy LP

got a boost, shooting up 6.09 percent to $23.35 after Crestwood Midstream Partners LP announced its plans to acquire control of Inergy. Apollo Global Management LLC

was also up, gaining 5.17 percent to $27.96 on strong Q1 earnings.

Tyson Foods

was down, falling 4.61 percent to $23.78 after the company reported a drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit. Shares of Linn Energy LLC

were down 7.44 percent to $34.91. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

shares tumbled 2.12 percent to $14.30 after Cowen & Company downgraded the stock from “outperform” to “neutral.”

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.52 percent to $95.11, while gold traded up 0.44 percent to $1,470.70 Silver traded down 0.18 percent Monday to $23.97, while copper fell 0.62 percent to $3.29.

European shares were mostly lower overnight in thin trading following strong gains last week on the back of the ECB rate cuts and the U.S. employment report. The eurozone's services sector contracted less than expected in April as the eurozone Services PMI rose to 47.0 from 46.6 in March on expectations of a flat reading. The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.48 percent while the Italian FTSE MIB Index fell 0.44 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.02 percent while the French CAC 40 fell 0.15 percent.

The Treasury is set to auction 3- and 6-month bills. The Investor Movement Index for April will be released at 12:30 p.m. ET.