Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 20,829.76 while the NASDAQ declined 0.39 percent to
5,839.31. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.15 percent to 2,366.31.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed by 0.58 percent in trading on Tuesday.
In trading on Tuesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell by 0.59 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector
included Libbey Inc. (NYSE: LBY), down 14 percent, and
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), down 13 percent.
Top Headline
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reported downbeat
earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a weak outlook for the current quarter.
The company reported earnings per share of $1.45 on revenue of $20.69 billion. Analysts were expecting Target to earn $1.51 per
share in the quarter on revenue of $20.70 billion.
Comparable sales for the quarter fell 1.5 percent, which was on the high-end of the company's own guidance of negative 1.5 to
negative 1.0 percent.
Equities Trading UP
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) shares shot up 17
percent to $2.19. Dryships reported that it will initiate a new dividend, paying back $2.5 million to common shareholders on a
quarterly basis.
Shares of Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp (NYSE: SBY)
got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $21.46. Tricon Capital Group Inc. announced plans to buy Silver Bay Realty Trust for $21.50
per share.
NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) shares were also
up, gaining 17 percent to $46.00 as the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued a strong outlook.
Equities Trading DOWN
Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ: FRGI) shares
dropped 24 percent to $19.80. Fiesta Restaurant posted in-line Q4 earnings, but sales missed estimates. The company also disclosed
that it has suspended its sale exploration process and appointed a new CEO. Raymond James downgraded Fiesta Restaurant from
Outperform to Market Perform.
Shares of Essendant Inc (NASDAQ: ESND) were down
around 29 percent to $15.62. Essendant reported a Q4 loss of $2.4 million on revenue of $1.25 billion.
Cempra Inc (NASDAQ: CEMP) was down, falling around
20 percent to $3.38 after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.94 percent to $53.54 while gold traded up 0.01 percent to $1,258.90.
Silver traded up 0.31 percent Tuesday to $18.48, while copper rose 0.74 percent to $2.72.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.12 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.97 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.13 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.17 percent
while U.K. shares rose 0.17 percent.
Economics
The U.S. economy grew 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 2.1 percent growth.
The U.S. trade deficit for goods widened 7.6 percent to $69.2 billion in January.
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index rose 1.4 percent year-over-year for the week ended February 25.
The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.9 percent for December, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.7
percent gain.
The Chicago PMI rose 7.1 points to 57.4 for February.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 114.80 in February, versus a prior reading of 111.80. Economists
projected a reading of 111.00.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker is set to speak in Philadelphia, Penn. at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Data on farm prices for February will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Santa Cruz, Calif. at 3:30 p.m. ET.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President Bullard will speak at George Washington University in D.C. at 6:30 p.m. ET.
President Donald Trump is set to speak at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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