Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Higher; Bank Of America Tops Q2 Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 18,045.56 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.31 percent to 5,120.61. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 2,110.08.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Healthcare shares jumped by 0.40 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA, up 10 percent, and Celgene Corporation CELG, up 9 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares slipped by 0.50 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included GulfMark Offshore, Inc. GLF, down 5 percent, and Basic Energy Services, Inc BAS, off 1.2 percent.

Top Headline

Bank of America Corp BAC reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank posted quarterly net income of $5.32 billion, or $0.45 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $2.29 billion, or $0.19 per share.

Its revenue rose 1.8 percent to $22.35 billion from $21.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.36 per share on revenue of $21.32 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Receptos Inc RCPT shares shot up 10 percent to $228.80 after Celgene Corporation CELG announced its plans to acquire Receptos for $7.2 billion.

Guess?, Inc. GES shares were also up, gaining 8 percent to $22.95. Guess named Paul Marciano as successor to the current CEO Maurice Marciano. Evercore analyst Omar Saad upgraded Guess? from Sell to Hold, while raising the target price to $22.

Shares of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. PTCT got a boost, shooting up 7 percent to $52.45. JP Morgan upgraded PTC Therapeutics from Neutral to Overweight.

Equities Trading DOWN

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated ATI shares tumbled 9 percent to $25.65 after the company issued a weak Q2 forecast. Allegheny Tech projected a Q2 loss of $0.17 to $0.15 per share.

Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd MRTN were down 8 percent to $20.91 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results.

Mead Johnson Nutrition CO MJN was down, falling 4 percent to $84.70 after the company lowered its FY15 earnings guidance.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.13 percent to $52.44, while gold traded down 0.49 percent to $1,147.80.

Silver traded down 1.57 percent Wednesday to $15.08, while copper rose 0.18 percent to $2.54.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.44 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.69 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.95 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.34 percent while UK shares gained 0.17 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity slipped 1.90 percent in the week ended July 10, 2015.

U.S. producer prices gained 0.4 percent in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise.

The Empire State manufacturing index climbed to 3.86 points in July, versus a negative reading of 1.98 in June. Economists were projecting a reading of 3.

Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent growth.

The Federal Reserve will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.