Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Lennar Beats Q2 Estimates

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.35 percent to 18,080.88 while the NASDAQ fell 0.11 percent to 5,154.39. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.15 percent to 2,120.93.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose by 0.56 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Goodrich Petroleum Corporation GDP, up 10 percent, and Solazyme Inc SZYM, up 4 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares slipped by 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc ANTH, down 9 percent, and PAREXEL International Corporation PRXL, off 5 percent.

Top Headline

Lennar Corporation LEN reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter.

The Miami, Florida-based company reported quarterly net income of $183 million, or $0.79 per share, compared to $137.7 million, or $0.61 per share, in the year-ago period.

Its total revenue climbed 31.5 percent to $2.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.02 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Box Inc BOX shares shot up 7 percent to $18.74 following announcement of partnership with International Business Machines Corp. IBM on cloud.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics NKTR got a boost, shooting up 5 percent to $13.25. Nektar Therapeutics will replace Casey's General Stores Inc CASY in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on June 25.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc CPRX shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $4.35 after the company reported encouraging top-line results in proof-of-concept trial of vigabatrin in patients with Treatment-Refractory Tourette's Disorder. MLV & Co. initiated coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating and a $14.00 price target.

Equities Trading DOWN

Inphi Corporation IPHI shares tumbled 8 percent to $24.12. Northland Securities downgraded Inphi from Outperform to Market Perform.

Shares of Sunedison Semiconductor Ltd SEMI were down 5 percent to $19.88 after the company reported an offering of 15.94 million common shares by selling stockholders.

Ets Delhaize Freres et cie le Lion SA DEG was down, falling 6 percent to $23.08 after Royal Ahold NV agreed to merge with Delhaize Group.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.11 percent to $60.94, while gold traded down 0.35 percent to $1,172.50.

Silver traded up 0.37 percent Wednesday to $15.83, while copper rose 0.86 percent to $2.64.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.59 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.12 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.84 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.15 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.73 percent while UK shares gained 0.12 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity rose 1.60 percent in the week ended June 19, 2015.

The U.S. economy shrank by an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent decline.