Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Surges Over 250 Points; Lumber Liquidators Shares Drop

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.63 percent to 16,659.35 while the NASDAQ gained 1.55 percent to 4,574.20. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.48 percent to 1,946.22. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Monday, energy shares surged by 2.99 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK, up 17 percent, and Kosmos Energy Ltd KOS up 19 percent. In trading on Monday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by just 0.38 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Dean Foods Co DF, down 8 percent, and Weight Watchers International, Inc. WTW, down 7 percent. Top Headline Dean Foods Co DF reported better-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. Dean reported a quarterly profit of $18.5 million, or $0.20 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $5.3 million, or $0.06 per share. Excluding certain items, the company earned $0.36 per share. Its revenue slipped 16 percent to $2.02 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.34 per share on revenue of $2.07 billion. Equities Trading UP Trevena Inc TRVN shares shot up 13 percent to $9.14 after the company reported that it has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Therapy designation for oliceridine for the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain. Shares of MarineMax Inc HZO got a boost, shooting up 9 percent to $17.85 after the company's Board of Directors authorized a new stock repurchase program. MarineMax noted that its Board of Directors is now authorized to acquire up to 1.25 million shares of its common stock through February 28, 2018. Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. CETV shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $2.49. Central European Media posted a Q4 loss from continuing operations of $0.02 per share on revenue of $195.6 million. The company also reported that it has entered into a new 469 million euros term loan, guaranteed by Time Warner. Equities Trading DOWN Chimerix Inc CMRX shares dropped 35 percent to $4.99 after the company reported that its Phase 3 SUPPRESS trial of brincidofovir did not meet primary endpoint for the prevention of cytomegalovirus infection following hematopoietic cell transplantation. Citi downgraded the rating for Chimerix from Buy to Neutral, while reducing the price target from $13 to $9. Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc LL were down 17 percent to $11.79 following a report that the company's flooring has a higher risk of cancer than previously thought. U.S. regulators reversed its prior finding, which was released on February 10. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said over the weekend that its prior report contained an error in ceiling heights. As a result, the health risks were calculated using airborne concentration estimates around three times lower than they should have been. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX was down, falling around 13 percent to $74.24. On Friday, Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Valeant Pharmaceuticals with an Underperform rating citing a potential 42 percent downside exposure in the issue. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 6.92 percent to $31.69, while gold traded down 1.76 percent to $1,209.10. Silver traded down 1.23 percent Monday to $15.22, while copper rose 1.87 percent to $2.12. Eurozone European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 1.67 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.35 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 3.52 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1.98 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 1.79 percent, while U.K. shares rose 1.47 percent. Economics The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January rose to 0.28 from minus 0.22 in December. The flash reading of the Markit manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.00 in February, versus a prior reading of 52.40. However, economists were expecting a reading of 52.30.