Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Lower; Nordson Beats Q4 Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.19 percent to 19,874.35 while the NASDAQ gained 0.01 percent to 5,463.89. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.14 percent to 2,268.62.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares gained around 0.51 percent in trading on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.49 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. ANW, down 13 percent, and Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust CHKR, down 8 percent.

Top Headline

Nordson Corporation NDSN reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.

Nordson reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share on revenue of $ $509.3 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.24 per share on revenue of $482 million.

Equities Trading UP

Vericel Corp VCEL shares shot up 58 percent to $4.10 following announcement of the FDA approval of first autologous cellularized scaffold for the repair of cartilage defects of the knee.

Shares of Neustar Inc NSR got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $33.35 as the company agreed to be acquired for $33.50 per share in cash by a private investment group led by Golden Gate Capital.

Global Eagle Entertainment Inc ENT shares were also up, gaining 16 percent to $7.45 on supply & services agreement with Southwest Airlines Co LUV.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. ANW shares dropped 12 percent to $10.76 as the company reported a proposed offering of $100,000,000 convertible senior notes due 2021.

Shares of Airgain Inc AIRG were down 8 percent to $16.84. Wunderlich downgraded Airgain from Buy to Hold.

Merus Labs International Inc (USA) MSLI was down, falling around 15 percent to $0.890. Merus Labs posted Q4 adjusted EBITDA of $11.6 million and gross basis revenue of $34.3 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.33 percent to $53.22 while gold traded up 0.41 percent to $1,163.70.

Silver traded up 0.78 percent Wednesday to $17.11, while copper rose 0.08 percent to $2.60.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.82 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.60 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.34 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 0.59 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.17 percent.

Economics

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity dropped 4 percent for the latest week.

The producer-price index increased 0.4 percent in November, beating economists’ estimates for 0.1 percent growth.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.1 percent in November, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3 percent growth.

U.S. industrial production declined 0.4 percent in November, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent drop.

U.S. business inventories declined 0.20 percent for October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.10 percent drop.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.