Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 2.09% to 23153.23 while the NASDAQ rose 0.74% to 7971.76. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.59% to 2705.96.
The U.S. is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with the highest number of cases around the world. U.S. reported a total of 368,400 coronavirus cases with around 10,900 deaths. Spain confirmed a total of over 140,500 coronavirus cases with 13,700 deaths, while Italy reported a total of at least 132,500 confirmed cases and 16,500 deaths. In total, there were at least 1,359,300 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 75,900 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares climbed 5.1% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Western Midstream Partners, LP WES 32.82%, up 27%, and DCP Midstream, LP DCP 26.03%, up 20%.
In trading on Tuesday, information technology shares rose by just 0.2%.
Top Headline
Greenbrier Companies Inc GBX 18.09% reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views.
Greenbrier reported quarterly earnings of $0.46 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.29 per share. The company’s sales came in at $623.8 million, missing the consensus view of $798.97 million.
Greenbrier has lowered its global workforce by 3,500 employees. The company announced plans to suspend earlier issued guidance and cut overhead costs.
Equities Trading UP
Akers Biosciences, Inc. AKER 30.21% shares shot up 25% to $5.87. Akers Biosciences filed amendment to $25 million offering of stock and debt securities. Akers Biosciences shares jumped around 147% on Monday following an update from the company regarding its COVID-19 vaccine development program.
Shares of Borr Drilling Limited BORR 113.89% got a boost, shooting 54% to $1.22 after surging over 37% on Monday.
Sasol Limited SSL 72.1% shares were also up, gaining 57% to $3.9919 amid hopes of production cuts by key producers to sustain prices, as well as positive economic sentiment on a potential leveling off of coronavirus cases in some regions.
Equities Trading DOWN
SeaChange International, Inc. SEAC 25.9% shares tumbled 24% to $2.7750 after reporting weaker-than-expected Q4 results.
Shares of Chimera Investment Corporation CIM 17.84% were down 17% to $6.79 after the company reported a public offering of convertible senior notes.
Golar LNG Limited GLNG 21.15% was down, falling 15% to $5.16.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.9% to $26.32, while gold traded down 0.2% to $1,691.30.
Silver traded up 2.4% Tuesday to $15.525, while copper rose 2.4% to $2.2715.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.9%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 2%, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.2% while UK shares rose 1.4%.
Economics
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index rose 0.9% during March versus February.
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index declined 6.2 points to a reading of 47.8 in April.
The number of US job openings fell by 130,000 to 6.882 million in February, versus a revised 7.012 million in the earlier month.
Data on consumer credit for February will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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Editors’ Picks
GBP/USD stays below 1.2450 after UK employment data
GBP/USD trades marginally lower on the day below 1.2450 in the early European session on Tuesday. The data from the UK showed that the ILO Unemployment Rate in February rose to 4.2% from 4%, weighing on Pound Sterling.
EUR/USD steadies above 1.0600, awaits German ZEW and Powell speech
EUR/USD is holding above 1.0600 in the European morning on Tuesday, having hit fresh five-month lows. The pair draws support from sluggish US Treasury bond yields but the rebound appears capped amid a stronger US Dollar and risk-aversion. Germany's ZEW survey and Powell awaited.
Gold price holds steady below $2,400 mark, bullish potential seems intact
Gold price oscillates in a narrow band on Tuesday and remains close to the all-time peak. The worsening Middle East crisis weighs on investors’ sentiment and benefits the metal. Reduced Fed rate cut bets lift the USD to a fresh YTD top and cap gains for the XAU/USD.
SOL primed for a breakout as it completes a rounding bottom pattern
Solana price has conformed to the broader market crash, following in the steps of Bitcoin price that remains in the red below the $65,000 threshold. For SOL, however, the sensational altcoin could have a big move in store.
Key economic and earnings releases to watch
The market’s focus may be on geopolitical issues at the start of this week, but there is a large amount of economic data and more earnings releases to digest in the coming days.