Earnings Reports, White House Progress Send Markets Down

Earnings took full swing today with Citigroup (C), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), and Coca Cola (KO) reporting earnings this morning. Johnson & Johnson was the only of this group to beat analyst estimates, shares were up 0.42 percent heading into the close.

A deal is yet to be reached to restore the government to full functionality and increase the debt ceiling.

GOP leaders are said to be changing their deal, making it passable in the house for a vote as early as tonight.

Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 136.25 points, or 0.87 percent, to 15,168.01.

The S&P 500 dropped 12.08 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,698.06.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped just 21.26 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 3,794.01.

The Russell 2000 fell 10.68 points, or 0.98 percent to finish at 1,079.62.

Stock Movers
Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) shot up 5.3 percent to $4.57 after the company reported that Eisai will double BELVIQ sales force to 400 representatives.

Tumi Holdings (TUMI) was also up, gaining 6.09 percent to $20.55 after the company signed a licensing agreement with David Peyser Sportswear.

Insmed (INSM) gained 8.21 percent to $14.11 after the company closed enrollment of Phase 2 clinical trial of ARIKACE.

Molycorp (MCP) dropped 21.41 percent to $5.58 after the company announced its plans to sell $200 million in shares.

Teradata (TDC) shares tumbled 18.39 percent to $42.91 after the company issued downbeat earnings forecast for the full year.

FLIR Systems (FLIR) sold off 13.81 percent to $28.59 after the company released some poor guidance.

Commodities
Crude oil moved lower with the stock market on Tuesday. Near the close of equities, WTI crude futures were down 1.24 percent to $101.14. Less than a one percent drop will push the fossil fuel below the vital $100 level. Brent futures gave up 1.13 percent to $109.78.

Conversely, precious metals were mixed Tuesday, with gold recovering after Monday’s sell off. At last check, COMEX gold futures were up 0.2 percent to $1,279.10. Silver contracts fell 0.28 percent to $21.30 near the close.

Global Markets
Chinese markets were mixed overnight with the Shanghai index down 0.19 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.51 percent. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.26 percent.

European markets moved up on the day. The Euro Stoxx index, which tracks 50 euro zone blue chips rose 0.9 percent percent. London's FTSE added 0.64 percent, and France's CAC jumped 0.78 percent.

Currencies
The U.S. dollar jumped higher in value with a falling equity market and flat metals. The PowerShares ETF (UUP)that tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, gained 0.37 percent to $21.70.

The closely watched EUR/USD pair rose 0.31 percent on to $1.3621. Other big movers included the EUR/GBP, which rose 0.71 percent, and the USD/BRL which was up 0.44 percent on the day.

Volume and Volatility
With earnings taking the stage, volume should be higher over the next couple weeks. 149 million shares of the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) traded hands Tuesday, compared to the three month average of 123 million.

Volatility shot higher today with the VIX measure of S&P 500 volatility up almost 16 percent. This is still below last week’s high of 21.34.

By Luke Jacobi