Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NASDAQ Turns Higher; iGATE Shares Decline On Earnings Miss

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.39 percent to 17,443.21 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.20 percent to 4,643.40. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.16 percent to 2,016.12.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Tuesday, telecommunications services shares rose by 0.40 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM, up 4.6 percent, and CalAmp Corp. CAMP, up 3.7 percent.
Energy shares dropped by 1.21 percent in the US market on Tuesday. Top losers in the sector included PrimeEnergy Corp. PNRG, down 10.1 percent, Goodrich Petroleum Corp. GDP, off 13.7 percent.

Top Headline
Morgan Stanley MS reported downbeat results for the fourth quarter.
The New York-based bank posted quarterly income from continuing operations applicable to Morgan Stanley of $1 billion, or $0.47 per share, compared to $95 million, or $0.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, Morgan Stanley earned $0.40 per share.
Its revenue came in flat at $7.8 billion. Excluding DVA, net revenue slipped to $7.5 billion from $8.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $8.08 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation SWHC shares shot up 17.27 percent to $11.75 after the company issued a strong forecast. Smith & Wesson expected FY15 earnings of $0.74 to $0.78 per share on revenue of $526.0 million to $530.0 million.
Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL got a boost, shooting up 6.61 percent to $48.87 after the company reported upbeat earnings for the fourth quarter.

PetMed Express, Inc. PETS shares were also up, gaining 11.15 percent to $15.75 after the company reported higher earnings for the fiscal third quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Outerwall Inc. OUTR shares tumbled 18.63 percent to $63.29 after the company abruptly fired its chief executive and narrowed its Q4 earnings outlook. Outerwall said J. Scott Di Valerio has stepped down as CEO and resigned from its board.
Shares of iGATE Corporation IGTE were down 15.43 percent to $35.83 after the company reported downbeat earnings for the fourth quarter.
Express Inc. EXPR was down, falling 13.99 percent to $12.42 following the announcement of termination of buyout discussions with Sycamore Partners.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 4.13 percent to $46.68, while gold traded up 1.21 percent to $1,292.30.
Silver traded up 0.90 percent Tuesday to $17.91, while copper fell 1.05 percent to $2.59.

Euro zone
European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.79 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.24 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.91 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.14 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 1.16 percent while UK shares gained 0.52 percent.

Economics
The NAHB housing market index declined 1 point to 57 in January. However, economists were expecting a reading of 58.