Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Turn Upwards, Petrobras Continues its Rally

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.40 percent to 14,311.23 while the NASDAQ rose 0.08 percent to 3,226.42. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.26 percent to 1,543.05. Index Technicals:
The S&P 500 looks to break out over its 1,531 resistance today as its MACD attempts a bullish cross on the daily chart. The trendline starting from November 16th to December 31st should hold. The Dow looks set to break out over its 2007 high of 14,198. The Russell looks set to head upwards to test the 932 resistance after finding support at 894. Finally, the NASDAQ looks set to break out over its September 2012 highs of 3,197 for a 2nd attempt, while its MACD will also try a bullish cross today. Top Headline
American Eagle Outfitters AEO reported a rise in its profit for the fourth quarter and issued a weak sales outlook. For the first quarter, American Eagle expects earnings of $0.16 to $0.19 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $0.25 per share. Its quarterly net income climbed to $94.8 million, or $0.47 per share, versus $51.3 million, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Its same-store sales increased 4%, while overall revenue climbed 8.6% to $1.12 billion. Equities Trading UP
CTC Media CTCM shot up 15.94 percent to $11.64 after the company reported upbeat Q4 profit and announced its plans to raise dividend payments by 21% this year. Shares of Petrobras PBR got a boost, shooting up 14.32 percent to $16.57 after lifting diesel fuel prices . VeriFone Systems PAY was also up, gaining 8.73 percent to $20.93 after the company swung to a profit in the first quarter. Equities Trading DOWN
The Fresh Market TFM shares tumbled 9.26 percent to $38.61 after the company issued a weak 2013 forecast. American Eagle Outfitters AEO was also down, falling 10.64 percent to $20.15 after the company issued a weak sales outlook. Shares of Sohu.com SOHU were down 10.01 percent to $43.95 after the company denied plans to go private. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.69 percent to $90.19, while gold traded up 0.05 percent to $1,575.00. Silver traded up 0.37 percent Wednesday to $28.93, while COMEX copper fell 0.33 percent to $350.30. Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. Eurozone GDP for the fourth quarter was confirmed at a 0.6 percent contraction in the latest revision, in line with estimates and the same as the prior estimate. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.76 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.47 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.25 percent, London's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.07 percent, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.35 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.62 percent. Economics
US economy added 198,000 private jobs in February, according to Automatic Data Processing. However, economists were expecting a rise of 175,000 private-sector jobs. The MBA's index of mortgage application activity rose 14.8% in the latest week ended March 1, 2013. US factory orders dropped 2% in January, versus estimates for a 2.2% decline. According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude supplies rose by 3.8 million barrels for the week ended March 1, 2013, versus analysts' estimates for a 1.1 million-barrel rise. Motor gasoline supplies declined 600,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 3.8 million barrels. However, analysts were projecting a 1.6 million-barrel drop in gasoline stockpiles and a decline of 1.3 million barrels for distillate supplies. Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed is set to speak. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET. In addition, the Treasury is set to auction STRIPS.