Mid-Day Market Update: NASDAQ Up Over 1%; Merus Shares Plummet

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.17 percent to 24,762.23 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.17 percent to 6,984.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.58 percent to 2,689.15.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell 0.26 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included RGC Resources Inc. RGCO, down 3 percent, and American Water Works Company Inc AWK down 2 percent.

Top Headline

Digital Power Corporation DPW disclosed that its subsidiary, CooliSys Technologies Inc., agreed to acquire Enertec from Micronet Enertec Technologies Inc MICT for $5.2 million in cash.

Equities Trading UP

Chanticleer Holdings Inc BURG shares shot up 43 percent to $3.76. Chanticleer Holdings announced plans to deploy Mobivity's blockchain technology to power cryptocurrency rewards program.

Shares of Net Element International Inc NETE got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $13.74. Net Element said it has finalized a $7.55-million private placement of common stock and warrants with a New York-based family office that has made multiple investments in companies with a blockchain-focused technology platform.

Energous Corp WATT shares were also up, gaining 16 percent to $22.51.

Equities Trading DOWN

Weatherford International Plc WFT shares dropped 16 percent to $3.52 after rising 3.22 percent on Friday.

Shares of Koss Corporation KOSS were down 33 percent to $2.07 after surging 114.58 percent on Friday.

Merus NV MRUS was down, falling around 17 percent to $16.01. RBC Capital downgraded Merus from Outperform to Sector Perform.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.17 percent to $60.32 while gold traded up 0.29 percent to $1,313.10.

Silver traded up 0.17 percent Tuesday to $17.175, while copper fell 0.79 percent to $3.2745.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.21 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.35 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.04 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.36 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.45 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.52 percent.

Economics

The Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 55.10, versus previous reading of 55. However, economists projected a reading of 55.00.