Crude Oil Surges Over 6%; Target Profit Tops Views

U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the S&P 500 falling around 1.5% amid the ongoing Iran-U.S. conflict.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz and warned it would fire on any vessel attempting to pass.

The Dow traded down 1.48% to 48,179.27 while the NASDAQ dipped 1.54% to 22,398.78. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 1.46% to 6,781.08.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer staples shares fell by just 0.5% on Tuesday.

In trading on Tuesday, materials stocks dipped by 3.9%.

Top Headline

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) posted better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.

The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.44, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $2.15. Quarterly sales of $30.453 billion (down 1.5% year over year) missed the Street view of $30.512 billion.

The firm is looking for 2026 adjusted EPS of $7.50-$8.50, versus an analyst estimate of $7.68. It projects sales of $106.876 billion, versus the analyst estimate of $106.672 billion.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Ziff Davis Inc (NASDAQ:ZD) shares shot up 77% to $49.68 after the company agreed to sell its Connectivity division to Accenture.
• Shares of Battalion Oil Corp (NYSE:BATL) got a boost, surging 139% to $28.20 after the company announced plans to raise approximately $15 million.
• Kontoor Brands Inc (NYSE:KTB) shares were also up, gaining 13% to $73.46 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results and issued FY26 adjusted EPS guidance above estimates.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Power Solutions International Inc (NASDAQ:PSIX) shares dropped 27% to $62.60 after the company reported fourth-quarter results and announced that it has acquired MTL Manufacturing & Equipment Inc. (MTL).
• Shares of Maia Biotechnology Inc (NYSE:MAIA) were down 31% to $1.42 as the company announced pricing of $30 million underwritten public offering of common stock.
• Theravance Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:TBPH) was down, falling 27% to $13.90 after the company disclosed that Phase 3 CYPRESS study did not meet primary endpoint.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 6.6% to $75.90 while gold traded down 4% at $5,099.20.

Silver traded down 7.4% to $82.28 on Tuesday, while copper fell 2.4% to $5.8050.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 3.53%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 5.4%. London's FTSE 100 fell 3.30%, Germany's DAX fell 4.01% and France's CAC 40 declined 3.47% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 3.06%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipping 1.12% and China's Shanghai Composite falling 1.43%.

Economics

• The Logistics Manager's Index rose to 61.5 in February from 59.6 in the previous month.
• The RealClearMarkets/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell to 47.5 in March from 48.8 in the previous month, missing market estimates of 50.1.

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