Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Rise; JPMorgan Earnings Miss Expectations

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.11 percent to 23,936.36 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.19 percent to 6,988.09. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.56 percent to 2,597.19.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday morning, the communication services shares rose 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Cardlytics Inc CDLX up 18 percent, and Travelzoo TZOO up 8 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, materials shares fell 0.8 percent.

Top Headline

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

JPMorgan said it earned $1.98 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $26.1 billion, which may not compare to Wall Street's estimates of $2.25 per share and $27.28 billion.

The earnings miss is mostly due to the fixed income business unit, which generated revenue of $1.86 billion versus expectations of $2.2 billion.

 

Equities Trading UP

Truett-Hurst, Inc. THST shares got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $2.12 after the company reported the commencement of a tender offer to buy up to 1 million shares of common stock.

Shares of Microbot Medical Inc MBOT shot up 81 percent to $17.72. adding to the whopping 308-percent gain shares saw in the regular session following the announcement the company received a European patent covering its ViRob technology platform. Microbot Medical reported a $3 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation BGFV shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $3.62 after the company reported stronger-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter. The company narrowed fourth quarter EPS guidance and issued strong FY18 EPS forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

PG&E Corporation PCG shares dropped 25 percent to $6.28 amid speculation the company will file for bankruptcy.

Shares of Bio-Path Holdings Inc BPTH were down 34 percent to $0.13. Bio-Path priced its 8.6 million share public offering of common stock at $0.13 per share.

Tilray, Inc. TLRY was down, falling around 11 percent to $89.03. Tilray and Authentic Brands Group signed a global revenue sharing agreement to develop and market consumer cannabis brands.

 

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.52 percent to $51.28 while gold traded down 0.22 percent to $1,288.50.

Silver traded down 0.58 percent Tuesday to $15.595, while copper rose 0.11 percent to $2.638.

 

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.19 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.15 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.19 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.16 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.01 percent.

Economics

The Producer Price Index fell 0.2 percent for December, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent decline.

The NY Empire State manufacturing index dropped to3.90 for January, versus prior reading of 10.90. However, economists were expecting a reading of 10.75.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Rochester, MN at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Plano, TX at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is set to speak in Kansas City, MO at 1:00 p.m. ET.