Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed; Commercial Metals Misses Q1 Views

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.13 percent to 23,403.64 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.37 percent to 6,763.43. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.15 percent to 2,535.85.


Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the consumer discretionary shares climbed 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Roku Inc ROKU up 15 percent, and LGI Homes Inc LGIH up 9 percent.

In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell 0.9 percent.


Top Headline

Commercial Metals Company CMC reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter on Monday.

Commercial Metals posted Q1 earnings of $0.35 per share on sales of $1.277 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.36 per share on sales of $1.33 billion.


Equities Trading UP

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. AXSM shares got a boost, shooting up 127 percent to $5.97 after the company disclosed that it has achieved its primary endpoint in its Phase 2 trial for major depressive disorder.

Shares of Luxoft Holding, Inc. LXFT shot up 82 percent to $57.62 after the company announced it is being acquired by DXC for $2 billion.

Loxo Oncology, Inc. LOXO shares were also up, gaining 66 percent to $232.07 after the company received an acquisition offer from Eli Lilly LLY at $235/Share in cash.


Equities Trading DOWN


Natural Health Trends Corp. NHTC shares dropped 24 percent to $15.00. Natural Health Trends rejected false allegations in CCTV report and reiterated commitment to ethical business practices.

Shares of PG&E Corporation PCG were down 22 percent to $19.01 fter CNBC reported the company could face a minimum of $30 billion in liabilities related to California wildfires in 2017 and 2018, citing unnamed sources.The report comes after a Reuters story over the weekend suggested the utility is considering a bankruptcy filing and will potentially be taking a major financial charge in Q4.

AxoGen, Inc. AXGN was down, falling around 22 percent to $16.59. AxoGen expects Q4 sales of at least $23.4 million and FY18 sales of at least $83.9 million.

 

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.31 percent to $49.07 while gold traded up 0.72 percent to $1,295.10.


Silver traded up 0.34 percent Monday to $15.84, while copper fell 0.02 percent to $2.647.

 

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.4 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.09 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.24 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.55 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.54 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.54 percent.

Economics

The ISM non-manufacturing index declined to to 57.6 in December versus prior reading of 60.7.

U.S. factory orders rose 0.3 percent for November, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3 percent increase.

The TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index for December is schedule for release at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Atlanta GA at 12:40 p.m. ET.

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Morning Market Update
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