Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Gains 250 Points; HealthStream Shares Surge On Earnings Beat

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.21 percent to 21,014.67 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.76 percent to 6,029.54. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.67 percent to 2,390.01.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday afternoon, the cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Beasley Broadcast Group Inc BBGI and Lee Enterprises, Incorporated LEE.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares slipped by 0.02 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Companhia de Saneamento Basico (ADR) SBS, down 3 percent, and Atlantic Power Corp AT, down 3 percent.

Top Headline

McDonald's Corporation MCD reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday.

McDonald's said it earned $1.47 per share in the quarter on revenue of $5.68 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.33 per share on revenue of $5.51 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Nord Anglia Education Inc NORD shares shot up 19 percent to $32.83 after the company agreed to be acquired for $32.50 per share in cash.

Shares of LSB Industries, Inc. LXU got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $9.68. LSB Industries reported a Q1 loss of $0.48 per share on adjusted sales of $123.3 million.

HealthStream, Inc. HSTM shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $28.05 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results.

Equities Trading DOWN

ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Inc CTRV shares dropped 29 percent to $0.835. ContraVir Pharmaceuticals priced its 12 million share offering at $1 per share.

Shares of NGL Energy Partners LP NGL were down around 24 percent to $16.40. NGL Energy Partners declared a quarterly distribution of $0.39 per unit and revised its fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018 outlook.

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. HSII was down, falling around 17 percent to $22.10 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.08 percent to $49.76 while gold traded down 1.03 percent to $1,264.30.

Silver traded down 1.63 percent Tuesday to $17.64, while copper rose 1.36 percent to $2.60.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.21 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.15 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.59 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.14 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.23 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.23 percent.

Economics

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index rose 1.2 percent during the first three weeks of April versus March.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.7 percent when seasonally adjusted for February, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.8 percent growth.

U.S. new home sales rose 5.8 percent to an annual rate of 621,000 for March. Economists were expecting a 583,000 rate.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index declined to 120.30 in April, versus a previous reading of 125.60. Economists projected a reading of 122.50.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index dropped to 20.00 in April, versus a prior reading of 22.00. However, economists expected a reading of 16.00.