Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Verizon Q2 Profit Tops Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.66 percent to 17,980.45 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.18 percent to 5,228.25. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.02 percent to 2,127.96.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from SunCoke Energy Inc SXC and Frontline Ltd FRO.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 0.26 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Pampa Energia S.A. (ADR) PAM, down 3 percent, and Black Hills Corp BKH, off 2 percent.

Top Headline

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ reported better-than-expected profit for the second quarter, but the company’s revenue missed analysts’ expectations.

Verizon posted quarterly earnings of $4.23 billion, or $1.04 per share, compared to $4.21 billion, or $1.01 per share, in the year-ago period.

Its revenue rose 2.4 percent to $32.22 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.01 per share on revenue of $32.5 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Infosys Ltd ADR INFY shares shot up 12 percent to $17.65. Infosys reported earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $2,256 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The company announced its plans to acquire minority stake in ANSR Consulting.

Sanmina Corp SANM shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $21.22 after the company reported upbeat Q3 results.

Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc HOG got a boost, shooting up 5 percent to $57.56 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Lexmark International Inc LXK shares tumbled 17 percent to $39.22. Lexmark reported Q2 earnings of $0.97 per share on revenue of $891 million. The company projected Q3 earnings of $0.51 to $0.61 per share.

Shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc HLX were down 14 percent to $9.75. Helix reported Q2 GAAP loss of $0.03 per share on revenue of $166.016 million.

United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI was down, falling 12 percent to $55.05 after the company reported the termination of Albertsons Companies contract. Bank of America downgraded United Natural Foods from Neutral to Underperform and lowered the price target from $70.00 to $50.00.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.30 percent to $50.30, while gold traded down 0.42 percent to $1,102.20.

Silver traded down 0.09 percent Tuesday to $14.75, while copper rose 0.22 percent to $2.49.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.31 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.20 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.65 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.30 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.07 percent while UK shares slipped 0.10 percent.

Economics

On the economics calendar Tuesday, there is no important data due out.