Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Higher; Express Q4 Earnings Top Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.35 percent to 17,023.61 while the NASDAQ surged 0.14 percent to 4,655.13. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.38 percent to 1,986.77. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Wednesday, telecommunications services shares rose by 0.68 percent. Top gainers in the sector included ORBCOMM Inc ORBC, Mobil'nye Telesistemy PAO (ADR) MBT, and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (ADR) NTT. In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares dipped by 0.49 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Co. (ADR) HMY, down 7 percent, and Coeur Mining Inc CDE, down 7 percent. Top Headline Express, Inc. EXPR better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for the full year. The apparel chain expects Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.25 to $0.28 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.26 per share. For the full year, the company projects adjusted earnings of $1.56 to $1.71 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.58 per share. Express posted a quarterly profit of $56.1 million, or $0.67 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $41.8 million, or $0.49 per share. Its revenue gained 5 percent to $765.6 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.65 per share on revenue of $769.34 million. Equities Trading UP Air Transport Services Group Inc. ATSG shares shot up 24 percent to $14.55 as the company confirmed a deal with Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN to operate air transport network. Shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc BUFF got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $22.51 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued an upbeat earnings forecast for the full year. Determine Inc DTRM shares were also up, gaining 28 percent to $2.04. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Determine with a Buy rating and a $4.50 price target. Desjardins Securities upgraded Determine from Hold to Buy. Equities Trading DOWN Unisys Corporation UIS shares dropped 22 percent to $8.59 after the company reported a proposed $150 million private offering of Convertible Senior Notes. Shares of Ocean Rig UDW Inc ORIG were down 19 percent to $1.17. Ocean Rig UDW reported a Q4 loss of $1.26 per share on revenue of $475.727 million. Zagg Inc ZAGG was down, falling around 15 percent to $8.91 after the company reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter and announced the closing of its acquisition of mophiefor $100 million. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 1.37 percent to $37.00, while gold traded down 0.70 percent to $1,254.00. Silver traded down 0.49 percent Wednesday to $15.32, while copper rose 0.25 percent to $2.23. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.15 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.42 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.67 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1.25 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 1.15 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.69 percent. Economics US wholesale inventories rose 0.30 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent drop.