Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; D. R. Horton Cuts Cash Flow Outlook

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.03 percent to 22,355.85 while the NASDAQ declined 0.40 percent to 6,401.21. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.01 percent to 2,502.14.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the energy shares surged 0.73 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Bill Barrett Corporation BBG, up 8 percent, and Atwood Oceanics, Inc. ATW, up 7 percent.

In trading on Monday, technology shares fell 0.59 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Cardtronics PLC CATM, down 10 percent, and Semiconductor Manufacturing Int'l (ADR) SMI down 6 percent.

Top Headline

D. R. Horton Inc DHI lowered its FY 2017 cash flow forecast.

DR Horton expects FY 2017 cash flow of $150 million, versus earlier forecast of $300 million. The company said it does not anticipate hurricane will impact FY 2018 guidance.

Equities Trading UP

Izea Inc IZEA shares shot up 86 percent to $5.96. IZEA reported the release of CurationEngine™.

Shares of Aradigm Corporation ARDM got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $3.34 after the company disclosed the FDA acceptance of its NDA for Linhaliq with Priority Review status.

Tuesday Morning Corporation TUES shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $2.62. Jeereddi Partners and Purple Mountain Capital Partners proposed Michael Barnes to become new Tuesday Morning CEO.

Equities Trading DOWN

AZZ Inc AZZ shares dropped 9 percent to $46.60 after the company lowered its FY2018 guidance.

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Inc DGX were down 6 percent to $96.09. Raymond James downgraded Quest Diagnostics from Outperform to Market Perform.

Bioblast Pharma Ltd ORPN was down, falling around 20 percent to $1.85 as the company reported the effectiveness of 5 to 1 reverse split.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.97 percent to $51.15 while gold traded down 0.17 percent to $1,295.30.

Silver traded down 0.32 percent Monday to $16.93, while copper fell 0.56 percent to $2.928.

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.63 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.01 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.19 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.28 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.30 percent.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to a reading of -0.31 in August, compared to +0.03 in July.

The Dallas Fed manufacturing report for September will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 12:40 p.m. ET.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Grand Forks, North Dakota at 6:30 p.m. ET.