Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Rising, Herbalife Boosts on Dan Loeb Stake

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.58 percent to 13,405.20 while the NASDAQ fell 0.49 percent to 3,106.92. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.47 percent to 1,463.25.

The battle for Clearwire

continued this morning, as Dish Network

made an offer for the company of $3.30 per share, topping Sprint's

deal by about 15 percent. This sent Clearwire shares up about 7.5 percent in early trading.

Hologic

traded up 4.64 percent to $21.86 after its Olso breast cancer screening trial concluded that 3D mammograms combined with 2D examinations provided superior results. Shares of Danaher

were also up, gaining 4.33 percent to $60.18 after the company disclosed it would be raising its fourth-quarter guidance. Herbalife

saw quite a boost this morning, rising 7.54 percent to $41.24 as activist investor Dan Loeb announced an 8.24 percent stake in the company, pitting him directly against Bill Ackman's highly publicized short.

Apollo Group

was among the morning's top losers, falling 9.60 percent to $18.93 after a series of downgrades this morning. Sprint

was also down, falling 1.68 percent to $5.87 after the Dish Network announced its rival bid for Clearwire. Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals

were down as well, dropping 4.85 percent to $9.62 leading into the company's presentation at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.24 percent to $93.37, while gold traded down 0.31 percent to $1,657.10. Silver traded down 0.24 percent Wednesday to $30.22.

European makers were largely on the rise early this morning, lead upwards by some positive budget data. Italian shares saw the biggest gain, rising 1.09 percent with the Spanish Ibex coming in behind it at a gain of 0.61 percent.

In economic news Wednesday morning, MBA mortgage applications came in at 11.7, well above the previous figure -10.40.