Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Flat; H & R Block Profit Tops Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.01 percent to 21,330.54 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.01 percent to 6,221.00. However, the S&P fell 0.04 percent to 2,439.49.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 0.76 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. TOO, down 8 percent, and Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust CHKR, down 8 percent.

Top Headline

H & R Block Inc HRB reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share on Tuesday.

H & R Block reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $3.76 per share on revenue of $2.328 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $3.53 per share on sales of $2.32 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Medical Transcription Billing Corp MTBC shares shot up 18 percent to $1.81 following the release of a PR announcing the launch of MTBC WebSoft.

Shares of Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. BKD got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $15.31 after Reuters reported Tuesday that Zhonghong Zhuoye Group is in talks to buy the company.

H & R Block Inc HRB shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $29.63 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.24 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc ALDX shares dropped 14 percent to $4.40 after the company disclosed that its Phase 2b trial did not meet primary endpoint.

Shares of Epizyme Inc EPZM were down 8 percent to $10.26 after the company reported interim data from Phase 2 trial for tazemetostat in relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma and DLBCL patients.

Liberty Tax Inc TAX was down, falling around 13 percent to $11.30 after the company reported weak Q4 earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.73 percent to $46.12 while gold traded down 0.14 percent to $1,266.80.

Silver traded up 0.79 percent Wednesday to $16.90, while copper fell 0.04 percent to $2.5955.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.61 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.36 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 0.45 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.11 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.67 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.48 percent.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.10 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent growth.

U.S. retail sales declined 0.30 percent for May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent gain.

U.S. business inventories declined 0.20 percent in April, compared to economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent drop.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.