Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Crude Oil Up 3%; Amira Nature Foods Shares Tumble

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.01 percent to 17,978.30 while the NASDAQ declined 0.18 percent to 4,887.12. The S&P rose 0.12 percent to 2,090.33.

On Tuesday, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from

and

. In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares fell by 0.62 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 25 percent, and

, down 10 percent.

reported stronger-than-expected profit for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday. Procter & Gamble's quarterly net income rose to $2.75 billion, or $0.97 per share, compared to $2.15 billion, or $0.75 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company's earnings came in at $0.86 per share. Its net revenue slipped 7 percent to $15.76 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.82 per share and revenue of $15.81 billion.

shares shot up 17 percent to $15.22 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $7.00. Container Store Group reported in-line earnings for the fourth quarter and issued a strong earnings outlook for fiscal 2016.

shares were also up, gaining 18 percent to $10.70 following the company's announcement of several "strategic and accretive" acquisitions. American Midstream said it acquired: 1) interests in the Destin natural gas pipeline and the Tri-states and Wilprise natural gas liquids pipelines, 2) a majority interest in crude, natural gas, and salt water onshore and offshore piplies in the Gulf of Mexico, 3) an incremental 1 percent interest in Delta House, a semi-submersible floating production system in the Gulf of Mexico - bringing its total ownership to around 14 percent.

shares dropped 25 percent to $11.23 after a federal advisory panel voted that eteplirsen, its drug for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), was not effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 6-7 against the finding of substantial evidence that eteplirsen induces production of dystrophin to a level that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. Shares of

were down 21 percent to $7.35. Amira Nature Foods reported adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $231.7 million for the six months ended September 30, 2015.

was down, falling around 47 percent to $0.544. Active Power reported a Q1 loss of $0.18 per share on revenue of $5.7 million.

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.07 percent to $43.95 while gold traded up 0.24 percent to $1,243.20. Silver traded up 0.53 percent Tuesday to $17.15, while copper fell 0.35 percent to $2.25.

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 1.56 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 1.45 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.34 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.28 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.38 percent.

U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.80 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 1.80 percent growth. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.20 percent for February. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.20 in April, versus a previous reading of 96.20. Economists estimated a reading of 96.00. The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index dropped to 14.00 for April, versus a prior reading of 22.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 11.00. The Federal Open Market Committee started a two-day meeting today.