Mid-Day Market Update: Juno Therapeutics Jumps Following Announcement of 10-Year Collaboration With Celgene

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.12 percent to 17,617.81 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.44 percent to 4,980.37. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.20 percent to 2,061.73.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Financial shares jumped by 0.35 percent on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included St. Joe Co JOE, up 5 percent, and Noah Holdings Limited (ADR) NOAH, up 8 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares slipped by 0.69 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF, down 9 percent, and Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. SCHN, off 12 percent.

Top Headline

ConAgra Foods Inc CAG reported in-line earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter and announced its plans to exit Private Brands operations.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported quarterly net profit of $209.2 million, or $0.48 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $324.2 million, or $0.77 per share. Excluding items, the company’s earnings rose to $0.59 per share from $0.55 per share.

Its net sales surged to $4.1 billion from $3.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.59 per share on revenue of $4.14 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Juno Therapeutics Inc JUNO shares shot up 21 percent to $55.90 on news that it signed a 10-year drug development pact with Celgene Corporation CELG.

Shares of Asterias Biotherapeutics Inc AST got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $4.81. Asterias Biotherapeutics has been added to the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000®, Russell Global and Russell Microcap® indexes.

Signal Genetics Inc SGNL shares were also up, gaining 59 percent to $2.36 after the company announced a Master Service Agreement with a leading pharmaceutical company.

Equities Trading DOWN

Apollo Education Group Inc APOL shares tumbled 15 percent to $13.18. Apollo Education reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter. However, the company lowered its forecast for the year ending in August.

Shares of Tuesday Morning Corporation TUES were down 12 percent to $11.62. Tuesday Morning announced the resignation of its CFO Jeffrey Boyer.

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. SCHN was down, falling 12 percent to $17.01 on Q3 results. Schnitzer Steel reported a FQ3 loss of $9.6 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.06 percent to $58.95, while gold traded down 0.59 percent to $1,172.00.

Silver traded down 0.22 percent Tuesday to $15.66, while copper fell 0.42 percent to $2.62.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.26 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.78 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.48 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.25 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 1.63 percent while UK shares slipped 1.5 percent.

Economics

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index increased 1.1 percent in April, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.1 percent growth.

The Chicago PMI climbed to 49.40 in June, versus a prior reading of 46.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 50.10.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 101.4 in June, versus a revised reading of 94.6 in May. Economists were projecting a reading of 97.30.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesManagementM&AIntraday UpdateMarkets
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