Micron Gains On Upbeat Earnings; Elizabeth Arden Shares Slide

Related EDN Utility Sector Rises; Elizabeth Arden Shares Slide Over 3.6% Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Higher; Walgreen Profit Misses Estimates

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.11 percent to 16,955.76 while the NASDAQ surged 0.66 percent to 4,397.40. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.20 percent to 1,966.53.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares rose around 0.45 percent in trading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (NYSE: EDN), up 4.7 percent, and Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP), up 3.9 percent.

Basic materials sector was the top loser in the US market on Tuesday. Top decliners in the sector included Kraton Performance Polymers (NYSE: KRA), Molycorp (NYSE: MCP), and AuRico Gold (NYSE: AUQ).

Top Headline

Walgreen Co (NYSE: WAG) reported weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings.

Walgreen’s quarterly profit increased to $722 million, or $0.75 per share, from a year-earlier profit of $624 million, or $0.65 per share. Its adjusted earnings gained to $0.91 from $0.85 per share.

Its net sales surged 5.9% to $19.40 billion from $18.31 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.94 per share on sales of $19.49 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) shares shot up 42.73 percent to $95.07 after the company reported that its two phase 3 studies of Lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor met the primary endpoint.

Shares of Wix.com (NASDAQ: WIX) got a boost, shooting up 10.30 percent to $19.60 after the company announced that it had surpassed 50 million registered users worldwide.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) shares were also up, gaining 5.07 percent to $32.85 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. Micron posted its adjusted earnings of $0.79 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.69 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ: RDEN) were 4.77 percent to $26.95 on restructuring news. The company announced its plans to reduce jobs and exit some retail doors. It also announced the closing of its Puerto Rico affiliate.

Walgreen Co (NYSE: WAG) shares tumbled 1.84 percent to $72.37 after the company reported weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings.

Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was down, falling 1.40 percent to $38.86 after the company reported its Q2 earnings of $0.10 per share and raised its forecast.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.17 percent to $106.35, while gold traded up 0.08 percent to $1,319.50.

Silver traded up 0.46 percent Tuesday to $21.06, while copper rose 0.19 percent to $3.15.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today.

The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.12 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.05 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.28 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.20 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.06 percent while UK shares slipped 0.10 percent.

Economics

The ICSC–Goldman Sachs store sales index gained 2% in the week ended Saturday versus the earlier week.

The Johnson Redbook retail sales index declined 1.7% in the first weeks of June versus May.

The FHFA house price index remained unchanged in April, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.50% growth.

US home prices increased 1.1% in April versus March, according to S&P/Case-Shiller's composite index. After seasonal adjustments, US home prices gained 0.2% in April. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose to a reading of 168.71 in April, versus a prior reading of 166.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 169.09.

Sales of new US homes rose at an annual rate of 504,000 in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 439,000 gain.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 85.20 in June, versus a previous reading of 83.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 83.50.

The Richmond Fed manufacturing index fell to 3.00 in June, versus a prior reading of 7.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 7.00.

Posted-In: Earnings News Emerging Markets Eurozone Futures Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers

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