Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Xerox Profit Misses Views

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.48 percent to 17,916.84 while the NASDAQ declined 0.22 percent to 4,895.43. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.40 percent to 2,083.14. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Monday, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from pSivida Corp. PSDV and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX. In trading on Monday, basic materials shares fell by 1.13 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Resolute Forest Products Inc RFP, down 5 percent, and POSCO (ADR) PKX, down 5 percent. Top Headline Xerox Corp XRX reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Monday. The company's net income declined to $34 million, or $0.03 per share, compared to $225 million, or $0.19 per share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $0.22 per share. Its revenue dropped to $4.28 billion from $4.47 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.23 per share on revenue of $4.24 billion. Equities Trading UP Tribune Publishing Co TPUB shares shot up 57 percent to $11.83 as Gannett Co Inc GCI offered to buy Tribune Publishing for $12.25 per share in cash. Shares of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings LH got a boost, shooting up 4 percent to $126.65 as the company reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter and raised its guidance for the full year. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX shares were also up, gaining 4 percent to $37.43. Valeant named Joseph Papa as its new CEO and Chairman. Equities Trading DOWN TrovaGene Inc TROV shares dropped 15 percent to $5.27. TrovaGene named Bill Welch as its CEO, effective immediately. Shares of Perrigo Company plc Ordinary Shares PRGO were down 10 percent to $108.91 as the company named John T. Hendrickson as its CEO. The company reported weak preliminary Q1 financial results, and also lowered its full year outlook. First Foundation Inc FFWM was down, falling around 11 percent to $20.00 on Q1 results. First Foundation reported Q1 earnings of $0.23 per share on revenue of $26.3 million. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 1.03 percent to $43.28 while gold traded up 0.50 percent to $1,236.20. Silver traded up 0.32 percent Monday to $17.01, while copper fell 0.18 percent to $2.26. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.51 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.72 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 1.25 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.85 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.71 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.82 percent. Economics New home sales declined 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 511,000 in March. However, economists were expecting a 527,000 pace for the month.