Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Priceline Tops Q4 Estimates

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.83 percent to 16,330.29 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.80 percent to 4,471.34. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.82 percent to 1,911.04. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Wednesday, basic materials shares surged by 1.48 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included United States Steel Corporation X, up 8 percent, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX up 8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 0.29 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included American Midstream Partners LP AMID, down 4 percent, and Pampa Energia S.A. (ADR) PAM, down 2 percent. Top Headline Priceline Group Inc PCLN reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Priceline said it earned $12.63 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $2 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $11.80 per share on revenue of $1.96 billion. Looking forward to the first fiscal quarter, Priceline expects to earn between $9 and $9.60 per share. Priceline also expects its first quarter revenue to rise 9 to 16 percent. Equities Trading UP Regulus Therapeutics Inc RGLS shares shot up 21 percent to $7.57 after the company reported interim results from one of its ongoing Phase II studies of RG-101 for the treatment of HCV. Shares of Fossil Group Inc FOSL got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $41.80 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday. Shopify Inc SHOP shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $22.92 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results. Equities Trading DOWN Midcoast Energy Partners LP MEP shares dropped 27 percent to $5.29. Midcoast Energy Partners reported a Q4 loss of $3.8 million on revenue of $528.1 million. Shares of Eros International plc EROS were down 19 percent to $6.17. Eros International reported a Q3 loss of $0.066 per share on revenue of $60.45 million. Zix Corporation ZIXI was down, falling around 21 percent to $3.37. Zix posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $14.3 million. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 2.48 percent to $29.76, while gold traded down 0.11 percent to $1,206.90. Silver traded down 0.06 percent Wednesday to $15.33, while copper rose 0.27 percent to $2.06. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 1.87 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.98 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 2.22 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 2.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 2.20 percent, while U.K. shares rose 1.68 percent. Economics The producer price index gained 0.1 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent decline. US housing starts dropped 3.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.1 million in January. However, economists were expecting an annual rate of 1.18 million for the month. US industrial production rose 0.90 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.40 percent growth. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.