Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NASDAQ Turns Negative; Whirlpool Shares Drop After Earnings Miss

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.47 percent to 25,161.82 while the NASDAQ declined 0.27 percent to 7,820.36. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.18 percent to 2,811.89.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday afternoon, the materials shares climbed 1.19 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE:OI) up 11 percent, and Constellium N.V. (NYSE:CSTM) up 10 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell 0.45 percent.

Top Headline

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Monday.

Alphabet posted quarterly profit of $10.58 per share, on revenue of $32.66 billion. Analysts projected earnings of 9.59 per share on revenue of $32.17 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE:PLX) shares shot up 16 percent to $0.5081 after the company announced the expansion of its partnership with Chiesi Farmaceuti. As part of the agreement, Chiesi was granted U.S. rights for the development and commercialization of Protalix's PRX-102 for the treatment of Fabry disease.

Shares of Liberty Tax, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAX) got a boost, shooting up 25 percent to $10.50 after the company reported John Hewitt's sale of stake in Liberty Tax.

Top Ships Inc. (NASDAQ:TOPS) shares were also up, gaining 18 percent to $1.030 after the company reported termination of ATM offering program. The company also announced progress on new financing measures for three ships to be received in early 2019.

Equities Trading DOWN

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBGI) shares dropped 21 percent to $7.00. Beasley Broadcast Group priced its 3.13 million share offering at $7.50 per share.

Shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) were down 14 percent to $129.475 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter and lowered its FY18 guidance.

Gastar Exploration Inc. (NYSE:GST) was down, falling around 43 percent to $0.1202 after the company filed an update to March 23rd prospectus, detailing 170 million share common stock offering. Gastar also reported resignation of 2 board members and retention of advisors for review of strategic alternatives including 'potential restructuring of its balance sheet.’ Imperial Capital downgraded Gastar Exploration from In-Line to Underperform and lowered the price target from $1 to $0.14.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.25 percent to $68.74 while gold traded up 0.02 percent to $1,234.70.

Silver traded up 0.49 percent Tuesday to $15.50, while copper rose 2.06 to $2.803.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.86 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.48 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.25 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.12 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 1.04 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.70 percent.

Economics

The Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 55.50 for July, versus prior reading of 55.40. The services PMI slipped to 56.20 for July, versus previous reading of 56.50.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index declined to 20 in July, compared to 21 in June.