Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Down 2%; Heidrick & Struggles Shares Gain Following Upbeat Q2 Results

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.47 percent to 25,425.96 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.50 percent to 7,667.95. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.47 percent to 2,815.67.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, the real estate shares climbed 1.83 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI up 7 percent, and American Tower Corporation (REIT) AMT up 5 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, financial shares fell 0.62 percent.

Top Headline

Procter & Gamble Co PG reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates

The company said it earned $0.94 per share in the quarter on revenue of $16.50 billion versus expectations of $0.90 per share and $16.54 billion.

Procter & Gamble expects FY19 earnings of around $4.45 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. HSII shares shot up 21 percent to $41.20 after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results.

Shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. MEDP got a boost, shooting up 33 percent to $62.570 after the company reported upbeat Q2 earnings.

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation ATLC shares were also up, gaining 38 percent to $2.6245 following Q2 results. Atlanticus posted Q2 earnings of $0.41 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.63 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

SSLJ.com Limited SSLJ shares dropped 42 percent to $1.27 after the company reported appointment of new CEO and CFO.

Shares of IPG Photonics Corporation IPGP were down 27 percent to $162.66 as the company posted weaker-than-expected Q2 results.

Pioneer Energy Services Corp. PES was down, falling around 24 percent to $3.775 after the company posted downbeat Q2 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2 percent to $68.73 while gold traded down 0.10 percent to $1,230.30.

Silver traded down 0.11 percent Tuesday to $15.52, while copper rose 0.68 to $2.811.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.37 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.41 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.34 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.16 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.54 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.97 percent.

Economics

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today.

U.S. personal income rose 0.4 percent for June, while consumer spending gained 0.4 percent for June.

The employment cost index rose 0.6 percent for the second quarter.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index increased 6.5 percent year-over-year for May, versus a revised 6.7 percent gain in April.

The Chicago PMI increased 1.4 points to a reading of 65.5 for July.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index gained to a reading of 127.40 for July, versus prior reading of 126.40. Economists projected a reading of 126.50.