Mid-Day Market Update: U.S. Stocks Turn Positive; Hertz Shares Drop Following Downbeat Earnings

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.56 percent to 18,361.19 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.62 percent to 5,198.04. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.54 percent to 2,143.06.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, basic materials shares gained by 1.02 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO, and Valhi, Inc. VHI.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares rose by just 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included CGG SA (ADR) CGG, down 29 percent, and Matrix Service Co MTRX, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

CVS Health Corp CVS delivered better than expected EPS for the third quarter though revenue missed. However, the company offered downbeat guidance for the fourth quarter and next year.

CVS Health reported adjusted EPS of $1.64, beating expectations by $0.07. Its revenue rose 15.5 percent to $44.6 billion, missing estimates by $0.69 billion.

The company offered adjusted EPS forecast of $1.64 to $1.70 for the fourth quarter, versus expectations of $1.79. CVS lowered and narrowed full year adjusted EPS from $5.81-$5.89 to $5.77-$5.83. For the full year 2017, CVS expects adjusted EPS of $5.77-$5.93, versus estimates of $6.53.

Equities Trading UP

Stone Energy Corporation SGY shares shot up 31 percent to $5.26 folloiwng Q3 results. Stone Energy reported a Q3 adjusted loss of $7.40 per share.

Shares of Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. OSIR got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $5.19. Osiris Therapeutics expects that 2014 will restate revenue to $46 million-$50 million. The company projects 2015 revenue of $85 million to $90 million and FY16 revenue of$100 million to $110 million.

Addus Homecare Corporation ADUS shares were also up, gaining 15 percent to $30.00 after the company posted strong Q3 results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc HTZ shares dropped 34 percent to $23.58 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for the third quarter and provided downbeat forecast for the full year.

Shares of BioScrip Inc BIOS were down 47 percent to $1.38. BioScrip reported a Q3 loss from continuing operations of $0.12 per share on revenue of $224.5 million. The company also raised its FY16 sales outlook.

OneMain Holdings Inc OMF was down, falling around 38 percent to $17.02 on weak Q3 earnings. Several analysts downgraded the stock following results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.09 percent to $44.93 while gold traded down 0.31 percent to $1,275.40.

Silver traded up 1.12 percent Tuesday to $18.36, while copper rose 2.81 percent to $2.37.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.20 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.48 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.24 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.35 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.53 percent.

Economics

The NFIB small business optimism index rose to 94.9 in October, versus a reading of 94.1 in September.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.2 percent during the first week of November versus October.

The Treasury will auction 3-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.