Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Lockheed Martin Beats Q4 Views

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.30 percent to 26,536.23 while the NASDAQ declined 0.35 percent to 7,479.26. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.36 percent to 2,862.56.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. KS and Ossen Innovation Co Ltd (ADR) OSN.

In trading on Monday, telecommunications services shares fell 1.22 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Partner Communications Company Ltd (ADR) PTNR, down 6 percent, and Cellcom Israel Ltd. CEL down 5 percent.

Top Headline

Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its FY18 earnings outlook.

Lockheed Martin posted adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $4.30 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $15.14 billion. However, Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $4.07 per share on revenue of $14.73 billion.

Lockheed Martin expects FY18 earnings of $15.20 to $15.50 per share, on sales of $50 billion to $51.5 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $14.00 per share on sales of $50.6 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Immersion Corporation IMMR shares shot up 39 percent to $10.17 after the company reported a settlement with Apple.

Shares of KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. KS got a boost, shooting up 30 percent to $34.48 after the company agreed to be acquired by WestRock Co WRK for $35 per share in cash.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. DPS shares were also up, gaining 25 percent to $119.62. Dr. Pepper Snapple and Keurig Green Mountain announced plans to combine themselves into one new company called Keurig Dr. Pepper. As part of a deal, Dr. Pepper Snapple investors will receive $103.75 per share in a special one-time cash dividend and own 13 percent of the combined entity.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aradigm Corporation ARDM shares dropped 26 percent to $1.66 after the pharmaceutical company that focuses on severe respiratory diseases announced a disappointing update. The company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration won't approve its Linhaliq NDA in its present form due to multiple areas of concerns, including clinical data, product quality, and human factors.

Shares of Sohu.com Inc SOHU were down 15 percent to $39.27. Sohu.com reported a Q4 loss of $294.1 million on revenue of $509.6 million.

ITUS Corp ITUS was down, falling around 15 percent to $5.16. ITUS presented data from its early cancer detection technology at the ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-oncology Symposium in San Francisco, CA.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.68 percent to $65.69 while gold traded down 0.75 percent to $1,347.00.

Silver traded down 0.98 percent Monday to $17.27, while copper rose 0.19 percent to $3.205.

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.04 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.34 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.12 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.16 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.05 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.15 percent.

Economics

U.S. consumer spending gained 0.4 percent for December, while personal income rose 0.4 percent. Economists were expecting a 0.5 percent increase in spending.

The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for January is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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