Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Goldman Sachs Q4 Profit Drops

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 1.71 percent to 15,741.83 while the NASDAQ dipped 1.79 percent to 4,397.03. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.64 percent to 1,850.46. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Wednesday, healthcare shares slipped by just 1.07 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included POZEN Inc. POZN, up 3 percent, and Simulations Plus, Inc. SLP, up 2 percent. In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dipped by 3.30 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Pacific Ethanol Inc PEIX, down 17 percent, and Oasis Petroleum Inc. OAS, down 15 percent. Top Headline Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS reported a drop in its fourth-quarter earnings. The bank's quarterly net income applicable to common shareholders dropped to $574 million, or $1.27 per share, compared to $2.03 billion, or $4.38 per share, in the year-ago quarter. However, the company's earnings per share included a settlement with the RMBS Working Group which reduced its earnings per share by $3.41. Net revenue fell 5.4 percent to $7.27 billion Analysts were expecting earnings of $3.53 per share on revenue of $7.07 billion. Annualized ROE was 3.0 percent for the fourth quarter. Equities Trading UP Zafgen Inc ZFGN shares shot up 45 percent to $8.14 as the company reported that Phase 3 obesity drug trial has achieved its co-primary efficacy endpoint. Shares of Synthetic Biologics Inc SYN got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $1.70 after the company reported positive topline data from a second Phase 2 clinical trial. Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solutions Hldg Ltd KONE shares were also up, gaining 40 percent to $4.19. Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution reported fiscal year 2015 net income of around $1.0 million, versus a year-ago net loss of approximately $1 thousand. The company expects revenue of $7 million to $10 million and net income of $0 to $0.8 million for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Equities Trading DOWN Fluidigm Corporation FLDM shares dropped 31 percent to $5.14. Cowen & Company downgraded Fluidigm from Outperform to Market Perform. Shares of American Midstream Partners LP AMID were down 16 percent to $4.05. Wunderlich downgraded American Midstream from Buy to Hold. Seadrill Ltd SDRL was down, falling around 15 percent to $1.80. BofA/Merrill Lynch downgraded Seadrill from Neutral to Underperform. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 1.97 percent to $27.90, while gold traded up 1 percent to $1,100.00. Silver traded down 0.15 percent Wednesday to $14.10, while copper fell 0.38 percent to $1.97. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 2.22 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 2.18 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 2.72 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.96 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 2.58 percent, while U.K. shares dipped 2.52 percent. Economics US housing starts dropped 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.15 million in December. However, economists were projecting a 1.6 percent gain. The consumer price index slipped 0.1 percent in December.