Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed Ahead of Obama Interview

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.13 percent to 12,982.23 while the NASDAQ fell 0.46 percent to 2,988.35. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.14 percent to 1,407.47.

In his first interview since his re-election, President Obama will give an interview on Bloomberg television today at 12:30 PM. The topic is set to be the fiscal cliff, and his words are sure to have a significant effect on the SPY and markets as a whole.

Big Lots

traded up 9.31 percent to $30.65 after the company reported earnings Tuesday morning. Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources

were also up, gaining 3.95 percent to $29.52 after the company elected a new director after the close Monday. Zynga

also saw a boost, rising 2.87 percent to $2.30 following an announcement that it would bundle games with Cable TV.

Darden Restaurants

was among this morning's top losers, falling 9.96 percent to $47.20 after the company lowered its guidance, citing a series of failed promotions. MetroPCS

was down 7.43 percent to $9.97 this morning on a report from Reuters that said a Sprint counterbid for the company was unlikely. Shares of IAC InterActive

fell as well, dropping 8.29 percent to $43.26 following a downgrade by Goldman Sachs to Sell.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.92 percent to $88.27, while gold traded down 1.14 percent to $1,700.00. Silver traded down 0.68 percent Tuesday to $33.00.

In European headlines this morning, Reuters reported a clash between France and Germany over plans that would put the ECB in an oversight position for European banks. While France fought for a strong oversight policy, Germany expressed skepticism that the ECB should be overseeing banks at all. European markets rose Tuesday morning across the board following continued optimism over the Greek debt buyback, with the Italian MIB index leading the charge.

In economic news Tuesday morning, Redbook sales were reported at -0.3, below the prior report of 0.800. The ISM New York Manufacturing index was also reported, coming in at 52.5, well above the previous figure of 45.90.