Mid-Day Market Update: Thor Industries Surges On Earnings Beat; Momo Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.36 percent to 23,666.36 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.08 percent to 6,884.02. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.32 percent to 2,609.65.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE: RDS.A) and SunPower Corporation SPWR 5.34%.

In trading on Tuesday, technology shares rose by just 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Advanced Semiconductor Engnrng Inc (ADR) ASX 6.24%, down 6 percent, and QAD Inc. NASDAQQADB down 5 percent.

Top Headline

Roark Capital, a private equity investment firm that owns various restaurant chains including Auntie Anne's, CKE Restaurants, Moe's Southwest Grill, among others, offered to buy Buffalo Wild Wings for around $150 per share earlier in November. On Tuesday, Buffalo Wild Wings accepted a revised offer of $157 per share, which values the chicken wing chain just shy of $3 billion.

Buffalo Wild Wings will operate as a privately-held subsidiary of Arby's Restaurant Group and operate as an independent brand.

The price tag implies a premium of around 38 percent to Buffalo Wild Wings' 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of November 13, the last trading day prior to Roark Capital's public approach.

Equities Trading UP

PhaseRx Inc PZRX 71.21% shares shot up 95 percent to $1.29 after the company disclosed that it has received a position opinion for orphan drug designation for PRX-ASL from the EMA.

Shares of Apollo Endosurgery Inc APEN 47.67% got a boost, shooting up 44 percent to $5.86 after the company disclosed that it has received FDA clearance for OverStitch Sx.

Thor Industries, Inc. THO 12.58% shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $151.76 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Monday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Auris Medical Holding AG EARS 48.25% shares dropped 49 percent to $0.417. Auris Medical disclosed that its HEALOS Phase 3 trial did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint. The company also reported Q3 loss of CHF $0.14 per share.

Shares of Insignia Systems, Inc. ISIG 24.29% were down 18 percent to $1.45. Insignia Systems announced a 2.313 million share common stock offering via selling holders.

Momo Inc (ADR) MOMO 17.41% was down, falling around 17 percent to $25.75 after the company reported Q3 results. Momo reported Q3 earnings of $0.45 per share on sales of $354.5 million. The company disclosed that Ms. Sichuan Zhang, Mr. Feng Yu and Mr. Joseph C. Tsai resigned from board for personal reasons, Momo named COO Mr. Li Wang to board.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.15 percent to $58.02 while gold traded down 0.03 percent to $1,298.50.

Silver traded down 1.10 percent Tuesday to $16.93, while copper fell 1.69 percent to $3.104.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.48 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.67 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 0.31 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.52 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.08 percent.

Economics

The U.S. trade deficit in goods rose 6.5 percent to $68.3 billion in October. However, economists were expecting a $65 billion deficit. Wholesale inventories dropped 0.40 percent for October.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index dropped 0.2 percent during the first four weeks of November versus October.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4 percent growth.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 129.50 for November, versus previous reading of 125.90. However, economists were projecting a reading of 124.00.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index surged to 30.00 in November, versus prior reading of 12.00. Economists estimated a reading of 14.00.

The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.