Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Surges Over 100 Points; Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.50 percent to 20,727.45 while the NASDAQ gained 0.30 percent to 5,856.03. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.50 percent to 2,362.95.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 1.10 percent in trading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc HLX, and SunPower Corporation SPWR.

In trading on Tuesday, industrial shares fell by 0.04 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Unilever N.V. (ADR) UN, down 8 percent, and Magal Security Systems Ltd. (USA) MAGS, down 6 percent.

Top Headline

Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.

Wal-Mart posted Q4 earnings of $1.30 per share on revenue of $130.94 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.29 per share on revenue of $131.22 billion.


Equities Trading UP

Tronox Ltd TROX shares shot up 34 percent to $19.30. Tronox announced plans to acquire Cristal's TiO(2) business and also agreed to sell Alkali Business. Tronox posted a Q4 loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $548 million.

Shares of Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc EYEG got a boost, shooting up 131 percent to $3.78 as the company reported a licensing agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX.

Community Health Systems CYH shares were also up, gaining 33 percent to $9.20 after reporting upbeat Q4 results.


Equities Trading DOWN

Trevena Inc TRVN shares dropped 36 percent to $4.55 despite a positive development in Phase 3 trials. Trevena announced positive top-line results from ongoing Phase 3 trials called "APOLLO-1" and "APOLLO-2." The studies evaluated the safety of Trevena's oliceridine therapy in patients for 48 hours following bunionectomy and 24 hours following abdominoplasty.

Shares of Global Eagle Entertainment Inc ENT were down around 31 percent to $4.30. Global Eagle named Jeff Leddy as Chief Executive Officer. Dave Davis resigned as CEO effective February 20, 2017.

Rentech, Inc. RTK was down, falling around 41 percent to $1.63 after the company disclosed that it has decided to idle its Wawa facility. Rentech is also exploring strategic alternatives for the firm.


Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 1.38 percent to $54.52 while gold traded down 0.07 percent to $1,238.20.

Silver traded down 0.21 percent Tuesday to $18.07, while copper rose 1.27 percent to $2.75.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.64 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.36 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.34 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 1.18 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.49 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.34 percent.

Economics

The Markit flash manufacturing PMI dropped to 54.3 in February, versus a reading of 55 in January.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Boise, Id. at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneCommoditiesM&AGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsElectronic Equipment ManufacturersEnergyInformation TechnologyMid-Afternoon Market UpdateOil & Gas Exploration & Production
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