Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Down Over 100 Points; Bio-Path Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.41 percent to 25,700.55 while the NASDAQ declined 0.67 percent to 7,525.51. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.48 percent to 2,776.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, the materials shares rose 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included LyondellBasell Industries NV LYB up 6 percent, and CVR Partners LP UAN up 3 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 1.5 percent.

Top Headline

Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR reported better-than-expected EPS and sales results for its fourth quarter.

Dollar Tree said it earned $1.93 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $6.21 billion versus expectations of $1.92 per share and $6.19 billion. The company reported a 2.4 percent increase in its same-store sales for the quarter.

Dollar Tree said it expects Q1 earnings of $1.05 to $1.15 per share, on sales of $5.74 billion to $5.85 billion. The company projects FY19 EPS of $4.85-$5.25 on sales of $23.45 billion-$23.87 billion. Analysts project Q1 earnings of $1.30 per share on sales of $5.80 billion and FY19 EPS of $5.80 on sales of $23.89 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Bio-Path Holdings Inc BPTH shares got a boost, shooting up 173 percent to $12.58 after the company's Phase 2 trial of BP1001 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia demonstrated 'meaningful clinical improvement' with an 'excellent' patient safety profile.

Shares of Aytu Bioscience Inc AYTU shot up 26 percent to $1.39 after the company announced an agreement with SUDA Pharmaceuticals to distribute ZolpiMist outside of the US and Canada.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF shares were also up, gaining 24 percent to $26.43 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 EPS and sales results.

Equities Trading DOWN

NIO Inc. NIO shares dropped 20 percent to $8.14 following Q4 results. Although the company beat sales estimates, it terminated its plan for a Shanghai manufacturing plant and said it expects a greater-than-anticipated sequential decrease in deliveries.

Shares of Valeritas Holdings Inc VLRX were down 20 percent to $0.44 after the company reported mixed Q4 earnings and issued Q1 sales guidance below consensus estimates.

Qutoutiao Inc. QTT was down, falling around 19 percent to $12.68 after the company reported a wider net loss compared to Q4 last year.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1 percent to $55.98 while gold traded up 0.2 percent to $1,287.70.

Silver traded fell 0.1 percent Wednesday to $15.09, while copper fell 0.5 percent to $2.92.

Eurozone

European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.04 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.42 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.65 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.28 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.16 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.17 percent.

Economics

Private-sector employers added 183,000 jobs in February, versus a revised 300,000 gain in January, ADP reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 189,000 jobs.
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The U.S. trade deficit increased around 19 percent to $59.8 billion in December. However, economists were projecting a $57 billion deficit. Imports increased 2.1 percent to $264.9 billion in December, while exports fell 1.9 percent to $205.1 billion.

U.S. crude supplies climbed 7.07 million barrels for the week ended March 1, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts projected a gain of 388,000 barrels. Supplies of gasoline declined 4.23 million barrels last week, while distillates fell 2.39 million barrels.

The Federal Reserve released its latest Beige Book report.