Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Alcoa Revenue Misses Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.47 percent to 17,638.97 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.10 percent to 4,838.14. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.36 percent to 2,049.37.

On Tuesday, basic materials shares gained by 0.89 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 7 percent, and

, up 5 percent. In trading on Tuesday, technology shares fell by 0.10 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 9 percent, and

, down 5 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Monday, but the company missed analysts' sales estimates. The lightweight metals manufacturer posted first quarter earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.05 above the Street's consensus, on revenue of $4.95 billion, which missed the already-low expectations by $190 million.

shares shot up 7 percent to $1.96 after the company reported favorable results from Phase 1b trial of APD371. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 10 percent to $6.51. Credit Suisse upgraded Helix Energy Solutions from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $5.00 to $10.00.

shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $1.69 as the company reported that it has entered into agreements to sell 8,500 display terminals for $5.2 million. .

shares dropped 21 percent to $14.40. Horizon Pharma has requested an approval for 16 million buyback. The company expects FY16 revenue of $1.025 billion to $1.05 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $505 million to $520 million. Shares of

were down 15 percent to $9.05. T2 Biosystems reported preliminary Q1 revenue of $1 million.

was down, falling around 9 percent to $22.67 after the company lowered its forecast for the first quarter. The company expects adjusted Q1 earnings of $0.35 to $0.37 per share on revenue of $1.09 billion to $1.1 billion.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.09 percent to $40.80 while gold traded up 0.44 percent to $1,263.50. Silver traded up 1.09 percent Tuesday to $16.15, while copper rose 0.84 percent to $2.11.

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.12 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.45 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 0.68 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.07 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.10 percent.

U.S. import prices rose 0.20 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 1.00 percent growth. Export prices were unchanged for the month, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent gain.