Mid-Day Market Update: Movado Falls After Q2 Results; Lannett Shares Jump

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.69% to 25955.00 while the NASDAQ rose 0.2% to 7,842.74. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.5% to 2,883.46.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed 1.2% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Tallgrass Energy, LP TGE, up 35%, and Unit Corporation UNT, up 15%.

In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares fell 0.5%.

Top Headline

Tiffany & Co. TIF reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views.

Tiffany reported second-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.05. The company reported quarterly sales of $1 billion, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Tiffany’s worldwide comparable sales fell 3% on constant exchange rate basis.

Equities Trading UP

MDJM Ltd. MDJH shares shot up 58% to $3.9610 after the company disclosed that it entered into a Primary Real Estate Agency Services Contract with Taida Xincheng (Chengdu) Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Shares of Lannett Company, Inc. LCI got a boost, shooting up 42% to $8.55 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results and issued FY20 sales guidance above analyst estimates. The company also announced a distribution agreement with Sinotherapeutics.

Ecology & Environment, Inc. EEI shares were also up, gaining 48% to $15.04 after the company agreed to be acquired by WSP Global Inc.

Equities Trading DOWN

Phibro Animal Health Corporation PAHC shares tumbled 24% to $24.12 after the company reported weak Q4 EPS and sales results and issued weak FY20 EPS guidance. The company also announced it does not expected therapeutic claims for swine in China to be approved prior to 2021.

Shares of Movado Group, Inc. MOV were down 20% to $19.97 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter and issued downbeat FY20 forecast.

AstroNova, Inc. ALOT was down, falling 20% to $16.22 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.8% to $55.93, while gold traded down 0.4% to $1,546.30.

Silver traded up 0.5% Wednesday to $18.235, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.547.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.46%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.07%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.32%. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.59% and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.63% while UK shares rose 0.26%.

Economics

U.S. crude supplies dropped 10 million barrels for the week ended August 23, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a fall of 4.7 million barrels. Gasoline and distillate inventories each declined by 2.1 million barrels.

The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly is set to speak in Wellington, New Zealand at 5:30 p.m. ET.