Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Hertz Issues Weak Outlook

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.58 percent to 17,678.35 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.37 percent to 4,868.63. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.51 percent to 2,057.95. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Monday, basic materials shares gained by 1.97 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA (ADR) BVN, up 10 percent, and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (ADR) SID, up 9 percent. In trading on Monday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by just 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ, down 3 percent, and Century Casinos, Inc. CNTY, down 3 percent. Top Headline Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ issued an update to its outlook. Hertz Global said it expects its first quarter and full year U.S. car rental revenue and consolidated first-quarter earnings per share to be lower than previously expected. The company cited "excess industry capacity" for its poor outlook. Hertz added it expects its first-quarter U.S. car rental revenue per available car day to fall 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. For the full fiscal year, the company expects the same metro to be flat to 1.5 percent lower compared to a prior guidance of 1.5 to 2.5 percent growth year-over-year. Hertz did, however, affirm its full year fiscal 2016 earnings per share to be in a range of $0.95 to $1.05. The company also reaffirmed its expectation of realizing $350 million of incremental savings in 2016. Equities Trading UP Viking Therapeutics Inc VKTX shares shot up 17 percent to $1.41 after the company issued positive Phase 1b clinical data on VK2809 in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $4.27 after the company reaffirmed its $4 billion credit facility borrowing base. Hatteras Financial Corp. HTS shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $15.74 after Annaly Capital Management, Inc. NLY announced plans to acquire Hatteras Financial for $1.5 billion. Equities Trading DOWN PHH Corporation PHH shares dropped 15 percent to $10.52 after the company issued an update related to its Private-Label unit. The company is withdrawing its previously disclosed FY16 EPS outlook. Shares of Insys Therapeutics Inc INSY were down 17 percent to $14.72 after the company issued a weak forecast for the first quarter. MiMedx Group Inc MDXG was down, falling around 14 percent to $7.76. MiMedx Group reported Q1 revenue of $53.4 million, versus analysts' estimates of $57.33 million. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.63 percent to $39.97 while gold traded up 0.81 percent to $1,253.90. Silver traded up 2.48 percent Monday to $15.77, while copper fell 0.26 percent to $2.08. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.58 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.42 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 1.69 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.91 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.58 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.01 percent. Economics There were no major US economic releases Monday.