Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Dicks Issues Weak Forecast

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.16 percent to 20,920.10 while the NASDAQ declined 0.19 percent to 5,837.84. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.25 percent to 2,369.43.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose 0.22 percent in trading on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares fell by 0.88 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included BioScrip Inc BIOS, down 9 percent, and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. CLDX, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Dicks Sporting Goods Inc DKS posted upbeat quarterly earnings, but issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.

DICK'S reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share on revenue of $2.5 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.30 per share on revenue of $2.47 billion.

DICK'S expects Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.50 to $0.55 per share, versus analysts’ estimates of $0.61 per share. Dicks projects FY17 adjusted earnings of $3.65 to $3.75 per share, versus estimates of $3.75 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Nimble Storage Inc NMBL shares shot up 45 percent to $12.49 after Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE announced plans to acquire Nimble Storage for $12.50 per share in cash. Nimble Storage reported a Q4 loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $117 million.

Shares of MeetMe Inc MEET got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $6.08 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results. The company also agreed to acquire If(we), Inc. for $60.0 million in cash.

ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. MLNK shares were also up, gaining 24 percent to $1.75. ModusLink Global reported a Q2 loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $117.6 million. The company disclosed that its turnaround plan is on track.

Equities Trading DOWN

Avinger Inc AVGR shares dropped 16 percent to $2.20 after the company reprted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics Inc AKBA were down around 15 percent to $8.71. Akebia reported a Q4 loss of $0.99 per share.

Loxo Oncology Inc LOXO was down, falling around 8 percent to $41.48 as the company posted a wider-than-expected Q4 loss.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.03 percent to $53.75 while gold traded down 0.43 percent to $1,220.20.

Silver traded down 1.03 percent Tuesday to $17.59, while copper fell 0.28 percent to $2.64.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.19 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.04 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.09 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.33 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.04 percent.

Economics

The U.S. trade deficit increased 9.6 percent to $48.5 billion in January, versus a revised $44.3 billion in December. However, economists were expecting a deficit of $48.5 billion.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.8 percent during the first week of March versus February.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills and 3-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on consumer credit for January will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.