Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Falls 50 Points; Moneygram International Shares Surge

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.25 percent to 20,829.59 while the NASDAQ declined 0.43 percent to 5,850.25. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.43 percent to 2,363.27.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose 0.02 percent in trading on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 1.54 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Unit Corporation UNT, down 7 percent, and Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust CHKR, down 10 percent.

Top Headline

DSW Inc. DSW reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales missed estimates.

DSW posted Q4 earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $674.6 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.16 per share on revenue of $691.5 million.

Equities Trading UP

DragonWave, Inc.(USA) DRWI shares shot up 78 percent to $2.05 after the company announced distribution partnership with Ingram Micro Australia on Monday.

Shares of Moneygram International Inc MGI got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $15.70. Euronet Worldwide, Inc. EEFT proposed to acquire Moneygram for $15.20 per share, trumping Ant Financial's bid of $13.25 per share.

Ruby Tuesday, Inc. RT shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $2.12 as the company disclosed that it is exploring strategic alternatives. The company reported preliminary Q3 sales of $225.7 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Walter Investment Management Corp WAC shares dropped 40 percent to $1.62. Walter Investment Management posted a Q4 GAAP loss of $0.61 per share on revenue of $444 million.

Shares of Aratana Therapeutics Inc PETX were down around 22 percent to $5.40. Aratana Therapeutics reported a Q4 loss of $23.3 million on revenue of $292,000.

Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc ANTH was down, falling around 39 percent to $0.419. Anthera Pharmaceuticals reported a proposed public offering of common stock and warrants.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.53 percent to $48.19 while gold traded down 0.05 percent to $1,202.50.

Silver traded down 0.22 percent Tuesday to $16.94, while copper rose 0.74 percent to $2.65.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.31 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.91 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.86 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 0.51 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.13 percent.

Economics

The Federal Open Market Committee begins two-day policy meeting today.

The NFIB small business optimism index declined 0.6 points to a reading of 105.3 in February.

The Producer Price Index rose 0.3 percent for February, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent growth.