Mid-Afternoon Market Update: American Public Education Rises Following Q4 Results; PTC Therapeutics Shares Fall

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.93 percent to 16,834.87 while the NASDAQ gained 2.38 percent to 4,666.57. The S&P also rose, gaining 2 percent to 1,970.91.

On Tuesday, financial shares rose by 2.68 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 0.32 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 11 percent, and

, down 3 percent.

reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Dollar Tree said that it earned $1.01 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $5.37 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.07 per share on revenue of $5.41 billion. Same-store sales for the Dollar Tree segment rose 1.7 percent on a constant currency basis versus a 5.6 percent increase in the same quarter a year ago due to currency fluctuations in the Canadian market. Looking forward, Dollar Tree expects to earn $0.75 to $0.83 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $5.05 billion to $5.12 billion and earn $3.35 to $3.65 per share for the full fiscal year on revenue of $20.76 billion to $21.11 billion. Wall Street analysts were estimating the company will earn $0.80 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $5.1 billion and earn $3.76 per share for the full fiscal year on revenue of $20.92 billion.

shares shot up 26 percent to $3.17. Career Education reported a Q4 loss of $0.06 per share on revenue of $199.9 million. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $9.64. Hertz reported Q4 earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $2.41 billion.

shares were also up, gaining 20 percent to $18.58 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.

shares dropped 44 percent to $1.05 after the company reported a wider-than-expected Q4 loss. Shares of

were down 33 percent to $6.48 after the company reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter on Monday.

was down, falling around 30 percent to $5.58. PTC Therapeutics reported a Q4 loss of $1.50 per share on revenue of $12.734 million. Wedbush downgraded PTC Therapeutics from Outperform to Neutral. Cowen & Company also downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.93 percent to $34.40, while gold traded down 0.22 percent to $1,231.70. Silver traded down 0.93 percent Tuesday to $14.78, while copper rose 0.52 percent to $2.14.

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 1.44 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 1.77 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index jumped 2.21 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 2.34 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.22 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.92 percent.

The Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.30 in February, versus a prior reading of 51.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 51.00. The ISM manufacturing PMI gained to 49.50 in February, versus a prior reading of 48.20. Economists projected a reading of 48.50. US construction spending rose 1.5 percent for January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.40 percent growth.