Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Lennar Beats Q1 Expectations

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.47 percent to 17,452.94 while the NASDAQ declined 0.28 percent to 4,753.31. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.31 percent to 2,030.72.

On Tuesday, utilities shares gained by 0.26 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 13 percent, and

, up 2 percent. In trading on Tuesday, energy shares dipped by 1.76 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 10 percent, and

, down 8 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter on Tuesday. Lennar reported quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $1.86 billion.

shares shot up 18 percent to $5.35 after the company announced positive top-line results from its pivotal Phase 3 study of ferric citrate for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adults with non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $55.24 after the company confirmed that the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) voted to approve a sale of the company.

shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $3.23. OHR Pharmaceutical announced it has reached an agreement on the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the design of a Phase 3 trial for its lead drug candidate, Squalamine.

shares dropped 35 percent to $0.820 following a report of the SEC investigation on liquidity concerns. Shares of

were down 30 percent to $1.05 after the company announced the pricing of 3.6 million share common stock.

was down, falling around 21 percent to $28.12 after the company issued an update to the timeline for the filing of a new drug application. Puma Biotechnology will submit the NDA for neratinib in mid-2016. According to a press release, the decision was based on the company's recent meetings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.67 percent to $38.34, while gold traded up 0.64 percent to $1,229.80. Silver traded up 0.43 percent Tuesday to $15.26, while copper fell 1.25 percent to $2.22.

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.10 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.10 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.22 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.39 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.21 percent.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index gained 5.7 percent year-over-year in January. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index gained to 96.20 in March, versus a prior reading of 92.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 94.00.