Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Falls Over 200 Points; Constellation Pharmaceuticals Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.81% to 26698.54 while the NASDAQ fell 0.57% to 7953.87. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.74% to 2,954.70.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares slipped by just 0.2% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Upland Software, Inc. UPLD, up 9%, and Exela Technologies, Inc. XELA, up 10%.

In trading on Tuesday, industrials shares fell 1.3%.

Top Headline

McCormick & Co MKC reported better-than-expected third-quarter EPS results and raised fiscal year 2019 EPS guidance above analyst estimates.

The company reported third-quarter earnings of $1.46 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.29. McCormick raised its fiscal year 2019 EPS guidance from a range of $5.20-$5.30 to a range of $5.30-$5.35 versus the $5.28 Street estimate.

McCormick share.


Equities Trading UP

Roan Resources, Inc. ROAN shares shot up 22% to $1.4975 after the company agreed to be acquired by Citizen Energy for $1.52 per share in cash.

Shares of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CNST got a boost, shooting up 14% to $7.38 after the company reported a $65 million private placement with new and existing investors.

Conformis, Inc. CFMS shares were also up, gaining 22% to $2.27 after the company announced a development, license and distribution agreement with Stryker.

Equities Trading DOWN

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. NERV shares tumbled 24% to $5.91 after the company delayed the results for its Schizophrenia drug.

Shares of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation AMTD were down 23% to $35.88 after Schwab reportedly eliminated commissions for mobile and web US stock, ETF and options trades.

Reed's, Inc. REED was down, falling 26% to $0.9572 after the company issued weak preliminary third-quarter sales guidance. The company also announced Chairman John Belo will serve as interim CEO.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 0.2% to $53.97, while gold traded up 1.2% to $1,490.00.

Silver traded up 1.9% Tuesday to $17.325, while copper fell 0.7% to $2.5595.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.25%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.69%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.55%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.14%, and the French CAC 40 slipped 1.28% while UK shares fell 0.65%.

Economics

The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.1 in September 2019, versus a preliminary reading of 51.0.

The ISM manufacturing index fell to 47.8 in September, versus a reading of 49.1 in the prior month.

U.S. construction spending rose 0.1% for August.