Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Slides 3%; Kratos Defense & Security Shares Plummet Following Q4 Results

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 3.01% to 27,119 while the NASDAQ fell 2.59% to 8,982. The S&P also fell, dropping 2.71% to 3,138.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer staples shares slipped by just 1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Simply Good Foods Company SMPL, up 7%, and Happiness Biotech Group Limited HAPP, up 7%.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 3.3%.

Top Headline

Home Depot HD reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and raised its quarterly dividend from $1.36 to $1.50 per share.

Home Depot reported quarterly earnings of $2.28 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.11. The company reported quarterly sales of $25.78 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $25.77 billion.

The company also said it expects fiscal year 2020 sales growth of 3.5%-4%.

Equities Trading UP

Arlo Technologies, Inc. ARLO shares shot up 22% to $4.04 after the company reported a narrower-than-expected Q4 loss.

Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. LL got a boost, shooting 19% to $10.16 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results.

Jumei International Holding Limited JMEI shares were also up, gaining 26% to $19.52 after the company entered into definitive agreement for a going-private transaction.

Equities Trading DOWN

Tupperware Brands Corporation TUP shares tumbled 50% to $2.8650 on the heels of concerning FY19 and FY20 guidance. The company cited increased valuation of allowances for deferred tax assets, unfavorable macro trends in Brazil, China, US and Canada and a probe related to accounting of accounts payable and liabilities.

Shares of Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. CSOD were down 28% to $39.66 after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to purchase Saba for $1.395 billion in cash and stock. RBC Capital and Mizuho downgraded the stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. KTOS was down, falling 20% to $15.39 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 results. The company also issued Q1 sales guidance below estimates.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 2.5% to $50.15, while gold traded down 1.5% to $1,651.00.

Silver traded down 3.6% Tuesday to $18.20, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.575.

Euro zone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 1.76% the Spanish Ibex Index declined 2.45%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 1.44% Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.88%, and the French CAC 40 fell 1.94% while UK shares fell 1.94%.

Economics

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index slipped 0.2% during the first three weeks of February versus January.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index rose 2.9% year-over-year in December, versus a revised 2.5% increase in the prior month.

The FHFA house price index rose 0.6% in December, versus a revised 0.3% increase in November.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 130.7 in February, versus revised reading of 130.4. Analysts were projecting a reading of 132.

The Richmond Fed manufacturing index fell to a reading of -2 for February, versus prior reading of 20. However, analysts expected a reading of 13.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will speak at 3:00 p.m. ET.