Mid-Day Market Update: Markets Slump; Facebook Remains Up on Massive Volume

Mid-way through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.69 percent to 12,668.75 while the NASDAQ fell 0.38 percent to 2,872.87. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.54 percent to 1,367.09. Top Headline
Leading into the latest lock-up expiration, shares of Facebook FB shot up over 8 percent on a massive 137 million share trade volume. Speculation is out on whether or not Facebook may be buying up the newly unlocked shares. Equities Trading UP
Abercrombie & Fitch ANF remained up 27.65 percent at $39.80 after posting a big earnings beat and raising its guidance Wednesday morning. Shares of Cisco Systems CSCO also held onto their gains, remaining up 5.46 percent at $17.77 following its earnings beat after the close Tuesday. MBIA MBI consolidated its gains, remaining up 4.61 percent at $7.12, possibly a bounce from yesterday's losses. Equities Trading DOWN
IAMGOLD IAG plummeted 15.01 percent in early trading to $12.63 after the company posted an earnings miss Tuesday and was downgraded to Neutral at Macquarie. Nektar Therapeutics NKTR steadily fell Wednesday, dropping 14.48 percent to $5.74 following a series of FDA concerns. Shares of BGC Partners BGCP was also falling, trading down 7.65 percent to $3.38 following a hit in revenue due to a trading slump. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.00 percent to $86.23, while gold traded up 0.27 percent to $1,729.40. Silver traded up 0.29 percent Wednesday to $32.78. Eurozone
European shares fell mostly this morning among continued Greek and Spanish fears. The EU's Olli Rehn made a statement in Brussels stressing the importance of fiscal council, and noted the risks for nominal Spain targets next year. Most importantly, he said that Spain's 2014 deficit steps have fallen short. Economics
In economic news, MBA mortgage applications came in at 12.6 percent, well above the previous report of -5.0 percent. Retail sales were also reported, coming in at -0.3 percent, just below the expected -0.2 percent, and well below the prior reading of 1.1 percent, while core retail sales came in at -0.3 percent as well, much below the expected 0.4 percent, and well below the prior report of 1.1 percent. The purchasing price index (PPI) year over year came in at came in at 2.3 percent, below the expected 2.6 percent, and above the prior rating of 2.1 percent. The core PPI year over year came in at 2.1 percent, below the expected 2.5 percent and the previous report of 2.3 percent. The purchasing price index (PPI) month over month was also reported, coming in at -0.2 percent, below the expected 0.2 percent and well below the prior report of 1.1 percent, while the core PPI month over month was reported at -0.2 percent, below the expected 0.1 percent and the previously reported 0.0 percent.