Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Down 1.5%; Proteostasis Therapeutics Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.24 percent to 25,238.47 while the NASDAQ declined 0.09 percent to 7,581.83. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.11 percent to 2,786.16.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares gained 0.43 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included CGG SA (ADR) CGG 26.46%, down 27 percent, and Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. ZN 5.38%down 9 percent.

Top Headline

Dicks Sporting Goods Inc DKS 1.63% posted upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed expectations. The company also disclosed that it will no longer provide quarterly guidance.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.22 per share, beating estimates by 2 cents. The company’s sales came in at $2.66 billion, versus analysts’ estimates of 2.73 billion. Its same-store sales slipped 2.0 percent.

Equities Trading UP

Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc PTI 53.62% shares shot up 55 percent to $6.41 after the biopharmaceutical company that focuses on treating diseases caused by an imbalance in the proteostasis network announced an update. The company said the FDA granted a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its PTI-428, a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) amplifier.

Shares of Innovate Biopharmaceuticals Inc INNT 3.86% got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $23.06. Innovate Biopharmaceuticals named Dr. June Almenoff as COO and Chief Medical Officer.

Bovie Medical Corporation BVX 23.85% shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $2.91 following a fourth quarter earnings and sales beat.

Equities Trading DOWN

Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. CVGI 22.39% shares dropped 22 percent to $8.64 after the company posted downbeat results for its fourth quarter.

Shares of CounterPath, Corp. CPAH 19.22% were down 19 percent to $3.76 after the company reported results for its third quarter.

Advaxis, Inc. ADXS 17.19% was down, falling around 18 percent to $1.82. Advaxis reported a Q1 loss of $0.49 per share and announced a clinical hold in axalimogene filolisbac Phase 1/2 combination study with AstraZeneca's IMFINZI.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.5 percent to $60.45 while gold traded up 0.23 percent to $1,323.80.

Silver traded up 0.27 percent Tuesday to $16.58, while copper rose 0.42 percent to $3.137.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.36 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.15 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.11 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.62 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.14 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.62 percent.

Economics

The NFIB small business optimism index increased 0.7 point to a reading of 107.6 in February.

The consumer price index increased 0.2 percent for February, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent growth.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 0.3 percent during the first week of March versus February.