Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Conn's Beats Q2 Expectations

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded down 1.46% to 26017.89 while the NASDAQ fell 1.06% to 7878.76. The S&P also fell, dropping 1% to 2897.29.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Real estate shares climbed 0.5% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Landmark Infrastructure Partners LP LMRK, up 2%, and Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. IIPR, up 3%.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 2%.

Top Headline

Conn's Inc CONN reported better-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results.

Conn's reported second-quarter earnings of 62 cents per share on Friday, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 51 cents. The retailer reported quarterly sales of $401.059 million, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $379.02 million.

Equities Trading UP

Ardelyx, Inc. ARDX shares shot up 21% to $4.0993 after the company's pivotal phase 3 AMPLIFY study of tenapanor in combination with phosphate binders in patients with chronic kidney disease met primary and all key secondary endpoints.

Shares of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. EBS got a boost, shooting up 14% to $49.80 after the company was awarded a 10-year HHS contract to deliver ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.

Conn's, Inc. CONN shares were also up, gaining 13% to $22.81 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Napco Security Technologies, Inc. NSSC shares tumbled 22% to $27.06 after the company reported Q4 results.

Shares of Intelsat S.A. I were down 10% to $18.65 after Eutelsat withdrew from the C-Band Alliance with Intelsat and SES.

Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARDS was down, falling 27% to $8.55. Aridis announced ahead of the market open that its first-in patient Phase 2 study that evaluated its AR-105 did not meet theprimary endpoint of demonstrating superiority in clinical cure rates on Day 21 compared to placebo. The drug is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody for ventilator-associated pneumonia, or VAP, caused by gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Additionally, the company said it noted a statistically significant imbalance in all-cause mortality, as well as serious adverse event, or SAE, rates between the treatment groups that favored placebo. Aridis said it will no longer allocate further resources for the clinical development of AR-105.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.2% to $53.88, while gold traded up 0.6% to $1,539.10.

Silver traded up 1.3% Tuesday to $18.58, while copper fell 2.5% to $2.4885.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.4%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.3%. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.4% and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.5% while UK shares fell 0.3%.

Economics

The IHS Markit final manufacturing PMI increased to 50.3 in August, compared to a flash reading of 49.9.

U.S. construction spending rose 0.1% for July, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3% increase.

The ISM manufacturing composite index fell to 49.1 in August, versus prior reading of 51.2. However, economists expected a reading of 51.1.

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

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren is set to speak in Easton, Massachusetts at 5:00 p.m. ET.