Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Lennar Earnings Top Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 1.57 percent to 23,656.28 while the NASDAQ declined 1.20 percent to 6,857.67. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.10 percent to 2,585.82.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday morning, the telecommunication services shares gained 0.36 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included NII Holdings, Inc. NIHD, up 8 percent, and Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. CNSL, up 3 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares fell 1.6 percent.


Top Headline

Lennar Corporation LEN reported a better-than-expected fiscal first quarter earnings report.

Lennar reported adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $2.66 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.77 per share on revenue of $2.65 billion


Equities Trading UP

Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. TENX shares shot up 98 percent to $10.54 after the company reported results of pre-IND meeting with the FDA for Phase 2 study of levosimendan in PH-HFpEF patients.

Shares of RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation RXII got a boost, shooting up 35 percent to $3.58. RXi Pharma will present updated clinical and cosmetic dermatology programs at the International Investigative Dermatology (IID) Conference.

Astrotech Corporation ASTC shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $2.58 after the company disclosed that its subsidiary, 1st Detect announced that the Tracer 1000 has begun testing for passenger screening at airports.

Equities Trading DOWN

Cloudera, Inc. CLDR shares dropped 37 percent to $14.05. Cloudera reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter, but issued weak sales forecast for the current fiscal year.

Shares of Cellectis S.A. CLLS were down 10 percent to $34.51 after the company disclosed a $175 million follow-on ADS offering.

Acuity Brands, Inc. AYI was down, falling around 11 percent to $119.735 after the company reported downbeat quarterly earnings.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 1.98 percent to $62.25 while gold traded up 0.63 percent to $1,345.70.

Silver traded down 0.65 percent Wednesday to $16.285, while copper fell 2.51 percent to $2.9865.


Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.67 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.55 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.48 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.73 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.49 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.14 percent.

Economics

Private-sector employers added 241,000 jobs in March, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported. Economists expected a gain of 185,000 jobs.

The Markit services PMI declined to 54.00 for March, versus previous reading of 54.10. However, economists were expecting a reading of 54.30.

U.S. factory orders rose 1.2 percent for February, versus economists’ expectations for a 1.8 percent growth

The ISM non-manufacturing index slipped to 58.80 for March, versus prior reading of 59.50. Economists expected a reading of 59.20.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will speak in Wilberforce, Ohio at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Morning Market Update
We simplify the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...