Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; D.R. Horton Posts Downbeat Profit

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.08 percent to 17,600.35 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.10 percent to 4,647.12. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.04 percent to 2,037.50.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Healthcare shares jumped by 0.16 percent on Tuesday. Top gainers in the sector included Silver ICU Medical ICUI, up 13.6 percent, and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals ACRX, up 14.1 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.27 percent. Top losers in the sector included B Communications BCOM), down 4.1 percent, and Partner Communications Company PTNR, off 3.5 percent.

Top Headline

D.R. Horton DHI reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company posted a quarterly profit of $166.3 million, or $0.45 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $139.5 million, or $0.40 per share.

Its homebuilding revenue climbed 33% to $2.4 billion from $1.8 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $2.38 billion. Homes closed in the fiscal fourth quarter rose 25% to 8,612, up from 6,866 homes in the year-earlier quarter.

Equities Trading UP

ICU Medical ICUI shares shot up 15.61 percent to $83.02 after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter and raised its FY14 forecast. Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded ICU Medical from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $60.00 to $86.00.

Shares of Thompson Creek Metals Company TC got a boost, shooting up 10.71 percent to $2.17 after the company reported upbeat Q3 results.

Qiwi plc QIWI shares were also up, gaining 7.87 percent to $31.81 after the company reported upbeat Q3 results and raised its FY14 outlook.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Vivint Solar VSLR were down 19.95 percent to $11.80 after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Wayfair W shares tumbled 9.82 percent to $25.34 after the company reported a Q3 loss of $0.29 per share on revenue of $336.20 million.

Sprouts Farmers Market SFM was down, falling 5.62 percent to $29.70 after the company announced the launch of a public offering of 15 million shares of its common stock by selling stockholders.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.41 percent to $77.08, while gold traded down 0.30 percent to $1,156.30.

Silver traded down 0.58 percent Tuesday to $15.58, while copper fell 0.63 percent to $3.00.

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.36 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.36 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.17 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.13 percent while UK shares slipped 0.08 percent.

Economics

The NFIB small-business optimism index gained 0.8 points to 96.1 in October.