Mid-Day Market Update: Yingli Green Energy Surges Following Q1 Earnings; Infinity Pharmaceuticals Shares Tumble

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.52 percent to 17,640.81 while the NASDAQ declined 0.48 percent to 4,825.04. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.45 percent to 2,069.67.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

<b>On Tuesday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares slipped by just 0.1 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares declined by 1.7 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Endeavour Silver Corp EXK, down 7 percent, and Teck Resources Ltd (USA) TCK, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Isle of Capri Casinos ISLE reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.

The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share on revenue of $264.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of 0.54 per share on revenue of $266.8 million.

Equities Trading UP

Leading Brands, Inc (USA) LBIX shares shot up 53 percent to $2.29 following Q1 results. Leading Brands reported Q1 earnings of $0.10 per share on revenue of $3.033 million.

Shares of Vonage Holdings Corp. VG got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $5.32. Citigroup upgraded Vonage Holdings from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $4.75 to $8.00.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (ADR) YGE shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $4.71 following earnings results. Yingli Green posted Q1 earnings of $0.60 per ADS on revenue of $364.6 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. INFI shares dropped 72 percent to $1.25. Infinity announced plans to cut 21 percent of the workforce. The company also reported that DYNAMO Phase 2 monotherapy study evaluating the efficacy and safety of duvelisib met its primary endpoint.

Shares of Mesoblast limited (ADR) MESO were down 34 percent to $4.69 as the company issued an update on global heart failure program. The company reported that it has regained rights to cardiovascular field for cell therapy platform. Credit Suisse downgraded Mesoblast to Neutral from Outperform and slashed its price target to $5 from $10.

Revance Therapeutics Inc RVNC was down, falling around 22 percent to $14.33 as the company reported that its REALISE 1 Phase 3 trial of DaxibotulinumtoxinA Topical Gel (RT001) to treat patients with moderate to severe lateral canthal lines (crow’s feet) had failed to meet co-primary and other endpoints. Brean Capital downgraded Revance Therapeutics from Buy to Hold and removed the price target.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.04 percent to $48.37 while gold traded down 0.09 percent to $1,285.70.

Silver traded down 0.59 percent Tuesday to $17.34, while copper fell 0.78 percent to $2.04.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.69 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.88 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 2.04 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 1.32 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 2.07 percent, while U.K. shares fell 1.71 percent.

Economics

The NFIB small business optimism index increased 0.2 point to 93.8 in May.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.50 percent in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.30 percent growth.

U.S. import prices gained 1.4 percent in May, while rose 1.1 percent in the same month.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 1 percent during the first two weeks of June versus May.

U.S. business inventories rose 0.10 percent for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent growth.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills.

The Federal Open Market Committee begins two-day policy meeting today.