Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.16 percent to 22,154.56 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.21 percent to 6,397.38.
The S&P also rose, gaining 0.19 percent to 2,485.72.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Tuesday, the cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector
was strength from MDC Partners Inc (NASDAQ: MDCA) and
Douglas Dynamics Inc (NYSE: PLOW).
In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.32 percent. Meanwhile, top
losers in the sector included Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: KRO), down 6 percent, and James Hardie Industries plc (ADR) (NYSE: JHX), down 6 percent.
Top Headline
CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) reported
stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
CVS Health reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.33 per share, on sales of $45.7 billion. However, analysts were expecting
earnings of $1.31 on revenue of $45.37 billion.
CVS Health narrowed its FY17 adjusted earnings guidance from $5.77-$5.93 per share, to $5.83-$5.93 per share.
Equities Trading UP
FibroGen Inc (NASDAQ: FGEN) shares shot up 47
percent to $49.00 after the company posted a wider-than-expected Q2 loss and disclosed positive topline results from Phase 2 study
of pamrevlumab in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Shares of Cutera, Inc. (NASDAQ: CUTR) got a boost,
shooting up 23 percent to $32.90 as the company posted upbeat quarterly results and raised its FY17 outlook.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE: KORS) shares were
also up, gaining 20 percent to $44.57 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued a strong guidance.
Equities Trading DOWN
Atkore International Group Inc (NYSE: ATKR) shares
dropped 22 percent to $16.05. Atkore posted Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share on sales of $397.75 million. The company also
lowered its FY earnings forecast.
Shares of Depomed Inc (NASDAQ: DEPO) were down 26
percent to $6.80 after the company reported downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered its FY17 sales guidance. Janney Capital downgraded
Depomed from Buy to Neutral.
Bioamber Inc (NASDAQ: BIOA) was down, falling
around 41 percent to $0.588. BioAmber reported a $11 million offering of common stock and warrants.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.26 percent to $49.26 while gold traded down 0.57 percent to $1,257.50.
Silver traded down 0.07 percent Tuesday to $16.24, while copper rose 0.40 percent to $2.9185.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.24 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.69 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.09 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.43 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.32
percent while U.K. shares rose 0.19 percent.
Economics
The NFIB small business optimism index increased 1.6 points to 105.2 in July. However, economists were expecting a reading of
103.2 for July.
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.3 percent during the first week of August versus July.
U.S. job openings rose to 6.16 million for June, from 5.67 million in May, the Labor Department reported.
The Treasury will auction 3-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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