Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Crude Oil Climbs 6%; Sprint Shares Gain Following Strong Q3 Earnings

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.65 percent to 16,147.71 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.11 percent to 4,568.86. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.35 percent to 1,902.39. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Tuesday, energy shares rose by 3.34 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. AHGP, up 18 percent, and CGG SA (ADR) CGG up 17 percent. In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares rose by just 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc ANAC, down 7 percent, and Rockwell Medical Inc RMTI, down 6 percent. Top Headline Procter & Gamble Co PG reported second-quarter earnings of $1.04 per share on revenue of $16.9 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.98 per share on revenue of $16.96 billion. Looking forward, Proctor & Gamble said it's maintaining its outlook for organic sales growth of in-line to up to low-single digits for the full fiscal year 2016. The company added it expects its all-in sales to be down by a high-single digit during fiscal 2016 due to foreign exchange rates and minor brand divestures. Core earnings per share for the full fiscal year 2016 (including foreign exchange impacts) is expected to be down 3 percent to 8 percent compared to 2015's results. Equities Trading UP Firstmerit Corp FMER shares shot up 18 percent to $18.09 after the company agreed to be acquired by Huntington Bancshares Incorporated HBAN for around $3.4 billion. Shares of Sprint Corp S got a boost, shooting up 22 percent to $3.09. Sprint reported a narrower loss for the third quarter and raised its operating income forecast for the full year. Antares Pharma Inc ATRS shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $1.23 after the company announced a CEO transition. Antares Pharma's Board of Directors promoted Robert Apple to the position of President and CEO from his prior position as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Equities Trading DOWN TESSCO Technologies, Inc. TESS shares dropped 9 percent to $18.00. TESCO Tech reported Q3 earnings of $0.35 per share on sales of $139.5 million. The company expects Q4 EPS of $(0.13) to $0.05 and FY16 EPS of $0.76 to $0.94. Shares of Polaris Industries Inc. PII were down 8 percent to $73.97. Polaris reported Q4 earnings of $1.66 per share on revenue of $1.1 billion. The company also issued a weak earnings forecast for the full year Huntington Bancshares Incorporated HBAN was down, falling around 9 percent to $8.03. Huntington announced plans to buy FirstMerit in a $3.4 billion deal. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 6.03 percent to $32.17, while gold traded up 1.40 percent to $1,121.10. Silver traded up 1.94 percent Tuesday to $14.53, while copper rose 2 percent to $2.04. Eurozone European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.87 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 1.46 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 1.51 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.89 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.05 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.59 percent. Economics The Federal Open Market Committee begins its 2-day meeting today. The FHFA House Price Index rose 0.5 percent in November. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.9 percent in November versus October. The Markit services PMI fell to a reading of 53.70 in January, compared to a prior reading of 54.30. Economists estimated a reading of 54.00. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 98.10 in January, versus a previous reading of 96.50. Economists projected a reading of 96.50. The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 2.00 in January, versus a prior reading of 6.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 3.00.