Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Sysco Misses Q3 Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.25% to 24046.81 while the NASDAQ rose 1.61% to 8,850.63. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.8% to 2,894.

The U.S. is the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases and deaths around the world. U.S. reported a total of 1,180,630 coronavirus cases with around 68,930 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 218,010 coronavirus cases with 25,420 deaths, while Italy reported a total of at least 211,930 confirmed cases and 29,070 deaths. In total, there were at least 3,601,760 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 251,910 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 2.5% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Black Stone Minerals, L.P. BSM, up 10%, and Noble Midstream Partners LP NBLX, up 8%.

In trading on Tuesday, consumer staples shares rose by just 0.2%.

Top Headline

SYSCO Corporation SYY reported downbeat results for its third quarter.

SYSCO reported quarterly earnings of $0.45 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $0.60. The company reported quarterly sales of $13.699 billion, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $14.09 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PTLA shares shot up 129% to $17.75 after the company announced it will be acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALXN for $18 per share in cash.

Shares of Genprex, Inc. GNPX got a boost, shooting 82% to $4.21 after the company reported exclusive global patent and technology license deal for combo of its TUSC2 gene therapy with Immunotherapies.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. AKBA shares were also up, gaining 36% to $11.79 after the company announced the results from its Phase 3 program of Vadadustat for treatment of Anemia achieved primary efficacy and cardiovascular safety endpoints. The company reported upbeat Q1 results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH shares tumbled 19% to $11.70 after the company reported a $350 million common stock offering. Norwegian Cruise's NCL Corp. reported a $400 million investment by L Catteron.

Shares of Fulgent Genetics, Inc. FLGT were down 20% to $13.24 following downbeat Q1 earnings.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. HTZ was down, falling 17% to $2.99 as multiple reports suggested the company is nearing a bankruptcy filing. The car rental company has hired an additional advisor to help prepare for a planned bankruptcy filing, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 10.7% to $22.58, while gold traded down 0.5% to $1,704.50.

Silver traded up 0.4% Tuesday to $14.855, while copper rose 0.7% to $2.3275.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.5%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.6%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.8%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.4%, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.4% while UK shares rose 1.4%.

Economics

The US trade deficit increased to $44.4 billion in March, versus a revised $39.8 billion gap in the prior month. Exports fell 9.6% to $187.7 billion, while imports fell 6.2% to $232.2 billion.

The IHS Markit services PMI slipped to 26.7 in April, versus a preliminary estimate of 27.0.

The ISM non-manufacturing index dropped to 41.8 in April, versus a reading of 52.5 in the prior month.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard will speak at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 2:00 p.m. ET.