Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Falls Over 500 Points; Crude Oil Down 2.5%

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 2.25 percent to 23,560.62 while the NASDAQ declined 2.62 percent to 6,878.49. The S&P also fell, dropping 2.33 percent to 2,579.45. Leading and Lagging Sectors Monday afternoon, the utilities shares slipped by just 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included NextEra Energy Partners, LP NEP, up 2 percent, and SCANA Corporation SCG, up 2 percent. In trading on Monday, consumer discretionary shares fell 2.83 percent. Top Headline Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. CALM reported better-than-expected sales for its third quarter. Cal-Maine reported net income of $96.3 million, or $1.99 per share, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.09 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company earned $1.27 per share. Its sales rose 42 percent to $435.8 million, exceeding analysts' estimates of $432.65 million. Dozens of eggs sold increased to 273.2 million versus 263.6 million. Equities Trading UP SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. SLS shares shot up 164 percent to $9.10 after the company disclosed positive interim data from its Phase 2b NeuVax trial. Shares of Commvault Systems, Inc. CVLT got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $63.7469 after Elliott Management disclosed a 10.3 percent stake in Commvault and announced intent to nominate 4 candidates to the board. BioLife Solutions, Inc. BLFS shares were also up, gaining 18 percent to $6.0110 after the company reported preliminary revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Equities Trading DOWN SORL Auto Parts, Inc. SORL shares dropped 22 percent to $5.0848 after the company reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. Shares of Alkermes plc ALKS were down 22 percent to $45.25 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it won't review the company's therapy ALKS-5461. Alkermes, which mostly focuses on treatments for central nervous system diseases, said in a press release it received a Refusal to File letter from the FDA regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for ALKS-5461. SYNNEX Corporation SNX was down, falling around 16 percent to $98.89. SYNNEX posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak earnings outlook for the current quarter. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 2.5 percent to $63.31 while gold traded up 1.19 percent to $1,343.10. Silver traded up 1.95 percent Monday to $16.585, while copper rose 0.71 percent to $3.047. Eurozone European shares closed higher today. The German DAX rose 1.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.72 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.17 percent. Economics The Markit manufacturing PMI declined to 55.60 for March, from a prior reading of 55.70. Economists projected a reading of 55.70. U.S construction spending rose 0.1 percent for February, versus economists' expectations for a 0.4 percent growth. The ISM manufacturing index fell to 59.30 for March, versus prior reading of 60.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 60.10. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Duluth, Minnesota at 6:00 p.m. ET.