Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; H & R Block Earnings Top Expectations

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.31 percent to 26143.55 while the NASDAQ rose 0.68 percent to 7,876.10. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.44 percent to 2,899.36.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares rose 1 percent on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Chico's FAS, Inc. CHS, up 15 percent, and Tailored Brands, Inc. TLRD, up 9 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares fell by 0.2 percent.

Top Headline

H & R Block Inc HRB reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its dividend.

H&R Block posted quarterly earnings of $4.32 per share on sales of $2.33 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $4.14 per share on sales of $2.32 billion. H&R Block raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share.

H&R Block announced plans to acquire Wave Financial for $405 million in cash.

Equities Trading UP

Jaguar Health Inc JAGX shares shot up 89 percent to $14.09 after the company announced its subsidiary, Napo Therapeutics, will receive preclinical services from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop lechlemer, a drug for cholera indication.

Shares of ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc CTRV got a boost, shooting up 90 percent to $13.29. ContraVir issued press release highlighting publication of CRV431 data from experimental model of Hep B.

Chico's FAS, Inc. CHS shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $3.99. Chico's FAS reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, while comparable sales dropped 7.0 percent during the quarter. The company also lowered its full-year sales guidance.

Equities Trading DOWN

CymaBay Therapeutics, Inc. CBAY shares tumbled 55 percent to $5.01 after the company reported data from its Phase 2b study of Seladelpar in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Data showed reductions in liver fat were minimal and not significant compared to the placebo.

Shares of Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. ACHV were down 27 percent to $2.8331 after the company announced positive results Tuesday from the ORCA-1 dose-selection trial of cytisinicline for smoking cessation. The primary endpoint was the reduction in daily smoking, a self-reported measure. Across all treatment arms, subjects on cytisinicline experienced a 74-80-percent median reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked over a 25-day treatment period — compared to a 62-percent reduction in the placebo arms.

Beyond Meat, Inc. BYND was down, falling 19 percent to $136.50 after rising 21.24 percent on Monday. JP Morgan downgraded Beyond Meat from Overweight to Neutral and raised the price target from $120 to $121.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1 percent to $53.80, while gold traded down 0.2 percent to $1,327.20.

Silver traded up 0.4 percent Tuesday to $14.69, while copper rose 1.4 percent to $2.6975.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.9 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.2 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 1 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1.4 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.8 percent while UK shares rose 0.6 percent.

Economics

The Producer Price Index rose 0.1 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent increase.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.