Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Rises 1.5%; AeroVironment Shares Jump Following Strong Results

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.01 percent to 17,566.53 while the NASDAQ declined 0.96 percent to 5,049.23. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.35 percent to 2,056.43. Leading and Lagging Sectors In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares rose by 2.73 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Dow Chemical Co DOW, up 12 percent, and United States Steel Corporation X, up 10 percent. Technology shares tumbled by 0.26 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included Sigma Designs Inc SIGM, Jabil Circuit, Inc. JBL, and Immersion Corporation IMMR. Top Headline Vera Bradley Inc. VRA reported upbeat results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. The company posted quarterly income from continuing operations of $10.3 million, or $0.27 per share, compared to $8.7 million, or $0.21 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.27 per share. Its sales climbed to $126.7 millon from $125.2 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $121.14 million. Equities Trading UP Vera Bradley, Inc. VRA shares shot up 34 percent to $15.68 after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. Shares of Sunedison Inc SUNE got a boost, shooting up 23 percent to $4.26 on Vivint Solar agreement. SunEdison and Vivint Solar Inc VSLR reached an agreement to amend the terms of the merger agreement. AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $29.18 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter. Equities Trading DOWN Oxford Industries Inc OXM shares tumbled 7 percent to $63.99. Oxford Industries reported downbeat Q3 revenue and lowered its FY16 forecast. Shares of Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU were down 8 percent to $48.06 following quarterly results. Lululemon reported Q3 earnings of $0.35 per share on revenue of $479.7 million. Sigma Designs Inc SIGM was down, falling 25 percent to $6.69. On Tuesday, Sigma Designs reported Q3 earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $61.6 million. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 1.57 percent to $38.10, while gold traded down 0.49 percent to $1,070.00. Silver traded up 0.24 percent Wednesday to $14.15, while copper rose 0.68 percent to $2.07. Eurozone European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.16 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.65 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.42 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.03 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.44 percent. Economics US wholesale inventories declined 0.10 percent in October, versus economists' expectations for a 0.10 percent growth. Crude supplies slipped by 3.6 million barrels for the week ended December 4, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting supplies to rise by 252,000 barrels. Gasoline supplies gained 800,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles surged 5 million barrels last week.