Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Legg Mason Surges On Acquisition News; Fluor Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.52% to 29243.83 while the NASDAQ rose 0.02% to 9,733.06. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23% to 3,372.18.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed 0.9% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. BEP, up 3%, and CENTRAIS ELETRI/S ADR EBR, up 3%.

In trading on Friday, energy shares fell 1.4%.

Top Headline

Apple Inc. AAPL on Monday said that it doesn't expect to meet the revenue guidance for the quarter ending in March, as both its supply chain and the demand for its products is impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak..

Apple previously outlined revenue guidance of $63 billion to $67 billion for this quarter but didn’t provide a number in the latest update. The Cupertino-based company noted that while production has started since the extended Lunar New Year holiday, it’s not resuming as fast as the company initially expected.

Equities Trading UP

Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. BLPH shares shot up 183% to $9.72 following a positive clinical readout from the company. Bellerophon said top-line results from the PHPF-002 study showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in hemodynamic parameters.

Shares of Legg Mason, Inc. LM got a boost, shooting 24% to $50.44 after Franklin Resources announced it plans to acquire the company for $50 per share.

Senmiao Technology Limited AIHS shares were also up, gaining 18% to $0.69 after the company reported unaudited financial results for its third fiscal quarter on Friday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Fluor Corporation FLR shares tumbled 25% to $14.68 after the company announced that the SEC is conducting an investigation into the company's past accounting and financial reporting. The company also gave preliminary FY20 guidance which was in-line with analyst estimates.

Shares of Jeld-Wen Holding Inc JELD were down 12% to $22.21 after the company reported downbeat Q4 earnings.

Trans World Entertainment Corporation TWMC was down, falling 17% to $3.51. Trans World Entertainment reported shareholder approval of sale of its FYE segment.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded down 0.9% to $51.59, while gold traded up 1.1% to $1,604.30.

Silver traded up 2.4% Tuesday to $18.16, while copper rose 0.2% to $2.605.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.38% the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.16%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.41% Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.75%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.48% while UK shares fell 0.69%.

Economics

The NY Empire State manufacturing index rose to 12.9 in February, versus a reading of 4.8 in January.

The NAHB housing market index declined to 74 in February, compared to 75 in the prior month.

The Treasury International Capital report for December is scheduled for release at 4:00 p.m. ET.