Benzinga | Nov 24, 2020 10:16AM EST

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Dollar Tree Earnings Top Views

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.26% to 29,963.66 while the NASDAQ rose 0.27% to 11,913.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.90% to 3,609.67.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 12,421,990 cases with around 257,700 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 9,177,840 confirmed cases and 134,210 deaths, while Brazil reported over 6,087,600 COVID-19 cases with 169,480 deaths. In total, there were at least 59,315,200 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,399,070 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares rose 4.8% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), up 24%, and Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO), up 14%.

In trading on Tuesday, information technology shares rose by just 0.1%.

Top Headline

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.

Dollar Tree posted quarterly earnings of $1.39 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.15 per share. The company reported sales of $6.18 billion, exceeding expectations of $6.12 billion.



Equities Trading UP

Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK) shares shot up 116% to $6.09 after jumping around 122% on Monday.

Shares of ENGlobal Corporation (NASDAQ:ENG) got a boost, shooting 79% to $3.71 after surging over 88% on Monday. ENGlobal, earlier during the month, posted a loss for the third quarter.

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPTT) shares were also up, gaining 62% to $3.52 amid the formal transition process of Biden's team beginning. Stocks could also be trading higher on continued interest & volatility within the space.



Equities Trading DOWN

Kaixin Auto Holdings (NASDAQ:KXIN) shares tumbled 22% to $7.40 after jumping over 56% on Monday.

Shares of iMedia Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMBI) were down 18% to $6.35 after the company reported results for the third quarter.

HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR) was down, falling 18% to $8.05. highpoint resources regained compliance with NYSE minimum price continued listing standard.



Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.4% to $43.68, while gold traded down 1.9% to $1,802.50.

Silver traded down 2.5% Tuesday to $23.035 while copper rose 1.3% to $3.2990.

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 jumped 1.8%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 climbed 1.1%, French CAC 40 climbed 1.4% and London's FTSE 100 rose 1.3%.

German GDP grew by a record 8.5% in the third quarter, while French manufacturing climate indicator slipped to 92 in November versus a revised reading of 94 in October.

Economics

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index increased 6.6% year-over-year in September versus a 5.3% rise in the prior month.

The FHFA house price index rose 1.7% in September.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index declined to 96.10 in November from prior reading of 100.90.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index dropped to 15.00 in November versus prior reading of 29.00.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida is set to speak at 12:45 p.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.