Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Target Tops Q4 Expectations

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.24 percent to 25,756.94 while the NASDAQ declined 0.25 percent to 7,558.81. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.24 percent to 2,786.14.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday morning, the consumer discretionary shares rose 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Ctrip.com International, Ltd. CTRP up 15 percent, and Tata Motors Limited TTM up 6 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 0.5 percent.

Top Headline

Target Corporation TGT reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.

Target said it earned $1.53 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $22.98 billion versus expectations of $1.52 per share and $22.96 billion.

Target said it expects FY19 EPS of $5.75 to $6.05 versus the $5.61 consensus estimate.

Equities Trading UP

Document Security Systems, Inc. DSS shares got a boost, shooting up 68 percent to $1.75 after the company signed an exclusive master distributor agreement with Advanced Cyber Security to distribute EdnpointLockV software.

Shares of Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. PKOH shot up 10 percent to $34.87 after reporting a Q4 earnings beat.

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. CTRP shares were also up, gaining 15 percent to $40.10 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Monday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. AFH shares dropped 58 percent to $2.8701 after the company in its earnings report indicated a need to increase reserve estimates for unpaid losses.

Shares of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ADMS were down 30 percent to $8.48 after the company reportedly suspended 2019 revenue guidance amid expected near-term unevenness in prescription growth and challenges related to plan switches. Multiple analysts downgraded the stock.

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. BNED was down, falling around 30 percent to $4.80 after the company reported downbeat Q4 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.4 percent to $56.81 while gold traded down 0.1 percent to $1,286.30.

Silver traded down 0.1 percent Tuesday to $15.10, while copper rose 1 percent to $2.937.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.2 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.4 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.1 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.1 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.6 percent.

Economics

The final reading of IHS Markit services PMI fell to 56 in February versus prior reading of 56.2. Economists estimated a reading of 56.2.

New-home sales rose 3.7 percent at an annual rate of 621,000 in December. However, economists were expecting a 600,000 rate.

The ISM's non-manufacturing index rose to 59.70 for February, versus prior reading of 56.70. Economists projected a reading of 57.30.

The U.S. Treasury budget report for February is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET.