Courtesy of Benzinga.
Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.41 percent to 16,107.73 while the NASDAQ tumbled 1.34 percent to 3,968.97. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.45 percent to 1,822.31.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities stocks gained Tuesday, with PPL (NYSE: PPL) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Exelon (NYSE: EXC), with shares up 1.3 percent, and Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED), with shares up 1.4 percent.
In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.73 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co (NYSE: SHI), off 6.1 percent, and Vale SA (NYSE: VALE), down 6.2 percent.
Top Headline
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year earnings forecast. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly profit rose to $4.73 billion, or $1.64 per share, from a year-ago profit of $3.5 billion, or $1.22 per share. Its sales climbed to $18.1 billion versus $17.5 billion. On an adjusted basis, Johnson & Johnson earned $1.54 per share.
However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.48 per share on sales of $18 billion. Johnson & Johnson now projects full-year earnings of $5.80 to $5.90 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $5.75 to $5.85 per share. However, analysts expected earnings of $5.82 per share.
Equities Trading UP
Versartis (NASDAQ: VSAR) shares shot up 5.62 percent to $25.94. Citigroup initiated coverage on Versartis with a Buy rating and a $60.00 price target.
Shares of The Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) got a boost, shooting up 1.34 percent to $25.64 after the company reported a 58% gain in its first-quarter profit. Charles Schwab’s quarterly profit surged to $326 million, or $0.24 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $206 million, or $0.15 per share.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) shares were also up, gaining 1.33 percent to $34.34 on Globe and Mail report of potential bid from BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP).
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) were down 14.79 percent to $10.20 on Q4 results. The company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $3.3 million, or $0.06 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $14.5 million, or $0.27 per share. Its revenue slipped to $495.7 million versus $530.8 million.
The Brink’s Company (NYSE: BCO) shares tumbled 11.08 percent to $25.41 after the company reported that it will report Venezuela results at SICA II exchange rate.
Aaron’s (NYSE: AAN) was down, falling 6.89 percent to $28.37 after the company announced its plans to buy Progressive Finance Holdings for $700 million in cash and lowered its Q1 guidance.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.10 percent to $103.95, while gold traded down 1.76 percent to $1,304.20.
Silver traded down 2.30 percent Tuesday to $19.55, while copper fell 1.83 percent to $2.98.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today.
The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.83 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 2.33 percent.
Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.80 percent and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.89 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.70 percent.
Economics
The ICSC-Goldman same-store sales index declined 0.3% in the week ended Saturday versus the prior week.
US consumer prices climbed 0.2% in March, while the core CPI also gained 0.2%. However, economists were projecting the overall CPI to rise 0.1% and the core index to gain 0.1% in the month.
The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 1% in the first week of April versus March.
The Empire State manufacturing index fell to 1.29 in April, versus a prior reading of 5.61. However, economists were expecting a reading of 8.00.
The NAHB housing market index rose to a reading of 47 in April, versus 46 in March. However, economists were projecting a reading of 50.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech
