Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.18 percent to 17,725.37 while the NASDAQ declined 0.19 percent to 5,073.64. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.15 percent to 2,078.58.

In trading on Wednesday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares jumped by 0.57 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

(NASDAQ:

), up 5 percent, and

(NYSE:

), up 4 percent. Energy shares declined around 0.49 percent in Wednesday's trading. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

(NYSE:

), down 8 percent, and

(NYSE:

), off 7 percent.

(NYSE:

) reported downbeat sales for the third quarter and lowered its forecast for the year. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company posted a quarterly profit of $118 million, or $0.36 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $217 million, or $0.61 per share. Excluding items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.56 per share. Its total sales slipped 5.2 percent to $5.87 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.54 per share on revenue of $6.09 billion.

(NYSE:

) shares shot up 64 percent to $3.58 after the company agreed to be acquired by

(NYSE:

) for $3.60 per share in cash. Shares of

(NASDAQ:

) got a boost, shooting up 19 percent to $18.93 on better-than-expected Q3 results.

(NYSE:

) shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $21.93 after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q3 results.

(NYSE:

) shares tumbled 30 percent to $7.00. Everyday Health reported a Q3 loss of $0.40 per share on revenue of $54.3 million. Shares of

(NASDAQ:

) were down 18 percent to $18.35. Horizon Pharma responded to a lawsuit filed by

(NASDAQ:

) and recent allegations.

(NYSE:

) was down, falling 13 percent to $40.97 after the company reported downbeat sales for the third quarter and lowered its forecast for the year.

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.45 percent to $43.57, while gold traded down 0.23 percent to $1,086.00. Silver traded down 0.42 percent Wednesday to $14.30, while copper fell 0.14 percent to $2.21.

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.60 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.55 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.09 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.75 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.92 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.43 percent.

On the economics calendar Wednesday, there is no important data due out.