<div id="readability-page-1">U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 100 points on Tuesday. The Dow traded down 0.22% to 48,353.51 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.16% to 23,436.70. The S&amp;P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.13% to 6,896.56. Check This Out: AAR Gears Up For Q2 Print; Here Are The Recent Forecast Changes From Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts <div>Leading and Lagging SectorsEnergy shares rose by 0.6% on Tuesday.</div> In trading on Tuesday, consumer discretionary stocks fell by 0.3%. Top Headline The Chicago Business Barometer surged to 43.5 in December from 36.3 in the previous month and topping market expectations of 39.5. Equities Trading UP <ul> <li>FONAR Corporation ( FONR ) shares shot up 28% to $18.82 after the company confirmed its take-private deal.</li> <li>Shares of Autonomix Medical, Inc. ( AMIX ) got a boost, surging 30% to $0.6943 after the European Patent Office granted the company Patent No. EP4230133 (the ‘133 patent), titled, “Controlled and Precise Treatment of Cardiac Tissues.”</li> <li>Cemtrex, Inc. ( CETX ) shares were also up, gaining 40% to $2.9500 as investors cheered the firm's return to profitability and shrugged off a going-concern warning that had dragged down its shares earlier in the day.</li> </ul> Equities Trading DOWN <ul> <li>Flushing Financial Corporation ( FFIC ) shares dropped 8% to $15.46. OceanFirst Financial Corp. ( OCFC ) and Flushing Financial Corporation ( FFIC ) announced a merger agreement and a $225 million strategic investment from Warburg Pincus.</li> <li>Shares of New Era Energy &amp; Digital, Inc. ( NUAI ) were down 23% to $2.07 after the company issued firm response to New Mexico lawsuit.</li> <li>OceanFirst Financial Corp. ( OCFC ) was down, falling 6% to $18.42. OceanFirst announced plans to acquire Flushing in all-stock deal valued at $579 million.</li> </ul> <div>CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 0.5% to $58.34 while gold traded up 0.9% at $4,383.10.</div> Silver traded up 7.2% to $75.515 on Tuesday, while copper rose 2.6% to $5.7105. Euro zone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.53%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.85%. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.70%, Germany's DAX 40 rose 0.57% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.63% during the session. Asia Pacific Markets Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.37%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surging 0.86%, China's Shanghai Composite slipping 0.004% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.02%. Economics <ul> <li>The Case-Shiller Home Price Index increased 1.3% year-over-year in October, compared to a 1.4% surge in the previous month and versus market estimates of a 1.1% gain.</li> <li>The FHFA house price index rose 0.4% in October, following a 0.1% decline in September, and versus market estimates of a 0.1% increase.</li> <li>The Chicago Business Barometer surged to 43.5 in December from 36.3 in the previous month and topping market expectations of 39.5.</li> </ul> Now Read This: <ul> <li>How To Earn $500 A Month From Apogee Enterprises Stock (APOG) Ahead Of Q3 Earnings</li> </ul> Photo via Shutterstock</div>

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U.S. stocks fell mid-session, with the Dow down 0.22% to 48,353.51. The Chicago Business Barometer rose to 43.5 in December, exceeding expectations. Silver prices surged 7.2% to $75.515. FONAR Corporation shares jumped 28% after a take-private deal, while Autonomix Medical surged 30% following a patent grant. Conversely, Flushing Financial dropped 8% amid a merger announcement. In commodities, oil rose 0.5% and gold increased 0.9%. European markets were up, while Asian markets mostly declined.

Silver Rises Sharply; Chicago PMI Surges In December