Baltic Dry Index Rises 5.6 Percent, Largest Since March

The Baltic Dry Index provides an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials by sea. The index is issued daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange and is not limited to Baltic Sea nations.

The index on Tuesday rose 5.6 percent to 836 points based on Baltic Exchange data. Tuesday's gain marks the index's largest single-day advance since early March.

Panamaxes rose 2.7 percent to $5,176 daily, Supermaxes rose 1.3 percent to $8,673 daily and Handysizes rose one percent to $5,501 daily.

Shares of DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) were trading higher by 1.69 percent at $3.01 during Tuesday's pre-market session; shares of Navios Maritime Holdings (NYSE: NM) were trading higher by 0.98 percent at $8.25.

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) was trading lower by 1.71 percent at $1.15 before Tuesday's opening bell.

Other shipping companies such as Paragon Shipping (NASDAQ: PRGN) and Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) saw no shares trading hands during Tuesday's pre-market session.