Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Mastercard Earnings Beat Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.37 percent to 19,896.78 while the NASDAQ declined 0.35 percent to 5,593.89. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.26 percent to 2,274.89.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic material shares rose by 0.59 percent in trading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Richmont Mines Inc. (USA) RIC, and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (ADR) AU.

In trading on Tuesday, technology shares slipped by 0.47 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Rambus Inc. RMBS, down 10 percent, and Integrated Device Technology Inc IDTI, down 5 percent.

Top Headline

Mastercard Inc MA reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while revenue missed estimates.

Mastercard reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.86 per share on revenue of $2.76 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $2.79 billion.

Equities Trading UP

DryShips Inc. DRYS shares shot up 37 percent to $3.36 after the company reported the completion of its $200.0 million common stock offering.

Shares of AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) AEZS got a boost, shooting up 30 percent to $3.38 as the company reported the completion of Zoptrex™ pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in advanced endometrial cancer.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MNTA shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $17.24 after the company reported District Court decision to invalidate Teva's patents in COPAXONE litigation.

Equities Trading DOWN

Dimension Therapeutics Inc DMTX shares dropped 46 percent to $2.28 after the company reported interim topline results from ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical program for DTX101.

Shares of Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc RRTS were down around 27 percent to $8.40 as the company reported restatement of prior period financial statements.

Under Armour Inc UAA was down, falling around 25 percent to $21.62 after the company reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued a weak revenue forecast for 2017.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.53 percent to $52.91 while gold traded up 0.90 percent to $1,206.80.

Silver traded up 1.85 percent Tuesday to $17.47, while copper rose 1.96 percent to $2.71.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.10 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.32 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.02 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.15 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.40 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.57 percent.

Economics

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

The employment cost index increased 0.5 percent for the fourth quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent growth.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index gained 5.3 percent year-over-year for November.

The Chicago PMI declined to 50.3 for January, versus a previous reading of 53.9.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for January is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 52-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Data on farm prices for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.