Benzinga | Sep 15, 2020 10:16AM EDT

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Cracker Barrel Beats Q4 Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.60% to 28162.26 while the NASDAQ rose 1.28% to 11,197.92. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.90% to 3,413.89.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 6,555,240 cases with around 194,540 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 4,930,230 confirmed cases and 80,770 deaths, while Brazil reported over 4,345,610 COVID-19 cases with 132,000 deaths. In total, there were at least 29,303,750 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 928,960 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares climbed 1.9% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ:GOGO), up 6%, and Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU), up 6%.

In trading on Tuesday, financial shares fell 0.7%.

Top Headline

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.

Cracker Barrel posted a quarterly loss of $0.85 per share, versus analysts' estimates for a loss of $1.05 per share. The company reported sales of $495.10 million, beating expectations of $478.63 million.

Equities Trading UP

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNS) shares shot up 65% to $3.4850 after the company announced positive top-line results from its registrational Phase 3 clinical trial, dubbed Marigold, evaluating the use of oral ganaxolone in children and young adults with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a rare, genetic epilepsy with refractory seizures.

Shares of Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTV) got a boost, shooting 25% to $3.04 after the company said the FDA has granted fast track designation for its lead investigational drug, Rhenium NanoLiposomes, for the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) shares were also up, gaining 23% to $3.64 after climbing 46% on Monday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Francesca's Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:FRAN) shares tumbled 23% to $3.90 after the company swung to a net loss for the second quarter and announced exploration of strategic alternatives.

Shares of Nano-X Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ:NNOX) were down 20% to $39.23 after Citron Research issued bearish commentary on the stock, including a $0 price target.

AudioEye, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEYE) was down, falling 15% to $12.45 after declining 12% on Monday. AudioEye, last month, priced its 411,513 share common stock offering at $17.75 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.7% to $37.90, while gold traded up 0.8% to $1,979.40.

Silver traded up 1.4% Tuesday to $27.75, while copper rose 0.2% to $3.0735.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.7%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.4%, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 0.8%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.3%, French CAC 40 rose 0.5% and London's FTSE 100 rose 1.1%.

The UK reported an increase in unemployment rate during the three months to July, with the rate rising to 4.1% from 3.9%.

Economics

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today.

The New York Empire State manufacturing index rose to 17 in September versus 3.7 in August.

U.S. import prices rose 0.9% in August versus a revised 1.2% rise in July. Export prices increased 0.5% for August versus a revised 0.9% increase in July.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 1.6% during the first two weeks of September versus August.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.4% for August, versus analysts' expectations for a 1% growth.

The Treasury is set to auction 20-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.