Mid-Day Market Update: Burlington Stores Gains On Earnings Beat; Palo Alto Networks Shares Slide

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.15 percent to 18,984.97 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.22 percent to 5,380.67. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 2,198.23.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, basic materials shares gained by 1.17 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF, and United States Steel Corporation X.

In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares fell by 1.72 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Patterson Companies, Inc. PDCO, down 20 percent, and Medtronic PLC MDT, down 9 percent.

Top Headline

Dollar Tree, Inc. DLTR reported better-than-expected earnings for third quarter and raised its fourth-quarter bottom-line outlook.

The company reported third-quarter net income of $171.6 million or $0.72 per share. In comparison, the company earned $81.9 million or $0.35 per share last year. Adjusting for a $0.09 per share expense related to debt refinancing, the company's adjusted earnings were $0.81 per share, coming in at the top end of its $0.76–$0.82 guidance range.

Net sales rose 1.1 percent to $5 billion from the year-ago's $4.95 billion. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $0.78 per share on sales of $5.08 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Skyline Medical Inc SKLN shares shot up 150 percent to $5.20 after the company disclosed that it has received approval to market STREAMWAY system in Canada.

Shares of Burlington Stores Inc BURL got a boost, shooting up 15 percent to $85.33 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings.

Movado Group, Inc MOV shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $29.30 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings.

Equities Trading DOWN

Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW shares dropped 12 percent to $141.45. Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but revenue missed expectations.

Shares of Avino Silver and Gold Mines Ltd ASM were down 22 percent to $1.41 as the company reported a bought deal offering of $10 million.

Dycom Industries, Inc. DY was down, falling around 21 percent to $73.67. Dycom reported upbeat quarterly earnings, but sales missed estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.84 percent to $47.35 while gold traded up 0.19 percent to $1,212.10.

Silver traded up 1.14 percent Tuesday to $16.81, while copper rose 1.17 percent to $2.56.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.23 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.43 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1.37 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.27 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.41 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.62 percent.

Economics

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index for the latest week is schedule for release at 8:55 a.m. ET.

Existing-home sales rose 2 percent to an annual rate of 5.60 million in October. Economists were expecting a 0.5 percent drop.

The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index rose to 4.00 for November, versus a prior reading of -4.00. Economists projected a reading of 1.00.