Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Settling Down, Group 1 Drops

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.35 percent to 14,030.51 while the NASDAQ rose 0.52 percent to 3,208.31. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.63 percent to 1,529.25. Index Technicals:
For technicals on the major indices today, the S&P looks poised to bounce off its 1515 support and head to 1524 highs. The NASDAQ looks to be struggling to hold a breakout over 3197. The Dow looks to be remaining in the 13,860-14,022 range, after it attempts a breakout over 14,022 The RUSSEL continues to trend higher, with new intra-day resistance at 927.5.. Top Headline
Making headlines on Tuesday was the rumored merger between Office Depot ODP and OfficeMax OMX. The news sent shares up almost 33 percent and 26 percent respectively. The rumor, which said a deal may emerge as early as this week, also sent Staples SPLS through the roof, gaining over 15 percent. Equities Trading UP
SunPower SPWR shot up 16.77 percent to $13.37 Tuesday after being initiated by Citibank with a Buy rating. Shares of Sealed Air Corporation SEE were also on the rise Tuesday, gaining a staggering amount in early trading, but settling down at a gain of 10.88 percent to $21.51 after an earnings beat and raising its top line guidance, but lowering its forecast for the bottom line. Power-One PWER rose 113.35 percent to $4.67 after an upgrade at Raymond James to a Strong-Buy with a $6 price target. Equities Trading DOWN
Group 1 Automotive GPI traded down 8.35 percent to $61.08 after the company missed analyst estimates in its report this morning. Yandex YNDX was also down, dropping 8.68 percent to $23.37 following some poor fourth-quarter results. Shares of EarthLink ELNK were down as well, falling 10.25 percent to $6.22 following the company's poor fourth-quarter results this morning. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.84 percent to $96.67, while gold traded down 0.38 percent to $1,603.40. Silver traded down 0.45 percent Tuesday to $29.40. Euro zone
In the eurozone this morning, markets rose following a better than expected ZEW survey as bond yields declined. The French CAC was leading the rise, gaining 0.99 percent while the Italian FTSE was close behind, gaining 0.77 percent. Economics
In economic news Tuesday, the NAHB housing market index came in at 46.00, missing the 48.00 estimates and the prior release of 47.00.