Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Drops Over 700 Points; Barnes & Noble Education Shares Plunge

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 2.82 percent to 25,097.71 while the NASDAQ declined 3.4 percent to 7,188.73. The S&P also rose, gaining 2.97 percent to 2,707.44.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday afternoon, the utilities shares climbed 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Genie Energy Ltd. GNE up 4 percent, and Korea Electric Power Corporation KEP up 3 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, financial shares fell 4.2 percent.

Top Headline

Dollar General Corp. DG posted in-line earnings for its third quarter, while sales exceeded views. However, the company lowered its full-year forecast.

Dollar General reported quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $6.4 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $1.26 per share on sales of $6.38 billion.

Dollar General now expects FY18 earnings of $5.85 to $6.05 per share, versus prior forecast of $5.95 to $6.15 per share.

Equities Trading UP

Revance Therapeutics, Inc. RVNC shares got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $24.50 after reporting China market license deal with Fosun Pharma for RT002. The company’s RT002 showed efficacy and duration in largest-ever aesthetic neuromodulator clinical program.

Shares of Movado Group, Inc. MOV shot up 11 percent to $40.76 after reporting better-than-expected Q3 results.

Novelion Therapeutics Inc. NVLN shares were also up, gaining 30 percent to $1.269 after a shareholder, Healthcare Value Capital, send a letter to the company outlining its expectations that the company should explore potential sale.

Equities Trading DOWN

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. BNED shares dropped 30 percent to $4.545 following Q2 results.

Shares of Aphria Inc. APHA were down 21 percent to $4.76. Aphria responded Tuesday to criticism from a pair of short sellers that sent the stock tumbling 23 percent Monday.

Christopher & Banks Corporation CBK was down, falling around 19 percent to $0.39 after the company missed Q3 EPS and revenue estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.02 percent to $52.94 while gold traded up 0.29 percent to $1,243.20.

Silver traded up 0.70 percent Tuesday to $14.60, while copper fell 1.8 percent to $2.759.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.76 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.28 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 1.37 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 1.14 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.82 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.56 percent.

Economics

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index rose 0.8 percent during November.