Mid-Afternoon Market Update: US Stocks Turn Red; Crude Oil Falls Over 3%

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.20 percent to 15,955.72 while the NASDAQ dipped 0.86 percent to 4,449.67. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.46 percent to 1,871.76. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Tuesday, telecommunications services shares surged by 1.22 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included IDT Corporation IDT, up 3 percent, and Hawaiian Telcom HoldCo Inc HCOM, up 4 percent. In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares dipped by 0.91 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included LSB Industries, Inc. LXU, down 18 percent, and Seabridge Gold, Inc. (USA) SA, down 13 percent. Top Headline Bank of America Corp BAC reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Monday. The bank reported a quarterly profit of $3.34 billion, or $0.28 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $3.05 billion, or $0.25 per share. Its revenue climbed to $19.53 billion from $18.73 billion a year ago. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.26 per share on revenue of $19.78 billion. Equities Trading UP Biotie Therapies Oyj (ADR) BITI shares shot up 85 percent to $24.20 after the company agreed to be acquired by Acorda Therapeutics Inc ACOR for $25.60 per ADS. Shares of Rouse Properties Inc RSE got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $17.75 after Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAM proposed to acquire Rouse Properties for $17.00 per share in cash. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd BIN shares were also up, gaining 8 percent to $36.69. Waste Connections, Inc. WCN announced its plans to buy Progressive Waste for $2.67 billion. Equities Trading DOWN Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc EBIO shares dropped 78 percent to $0.510 after the company reported Phase 3 data on Isunakinra (EBI-005) in allergic conjunctivitis. Shares of Party City Holdco Inc PRTY were down 13 percent to $9.38. Morgan Stanley downgraded Party City Holdco from Overweight to Equal-weight. Tiffany & Co. TIF was down, falling around 6 percent to $63.92. Tiffany reported a 5 percent drop in holiday sales for comparable stores on a constant currency basis and issued a weak FY earnings forecast. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 3.20 percent to $28.48, while gold traded up 0.04 percent to $1,091.10. Silver traded up 1.50 percent Tuesday to $14.11, while copper rose 1.34 percent to $1.97. Eurozone European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.31 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.01 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 1.04 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX surged 1.50 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.97 percent, while U.K. shares climbed 1.68 percent. Economics The NAHB housing market index came in at 60 in January, versus economists' estimates for a reading of 61.