Mid-Day Market Update: Buckeye Tech Surges On Acquisition News, DeVry Dips

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.16 percent to 14,696.42 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.12 percent to 3,265.40. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.08 percent to 1,580.01.

The S&P 500 looks to be crossing its 1,575 resistance today, with 1,590 acting as resistance above that, and 1,550 as support below. Next up, the Dow is crossing its daily 20 EMA resistance at 14,606.67, with 14,750 resistance higher and 14,600 support below. The NASDAQ is sitting right around its 3,270 resistance support area, with 3,300 resistance above and 3,200 as support lower. Finally, the Russell crossed above its 50 and 20 EMA resistance levels yesterday at 921.86 and 926.11 respectively. The index has resistance resting above at 950, while 915 looks to be acting as a support level.

Ford Motor Co

reported a rise in its first-quarter profit. Ford's quarterly profit surged to $1.61 billion, or $0.40 per share, from $1.40 billion, or $0.35 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue surged to $35.8 billion, from $32.4 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $33.48 billion.

Buckeye Technologies

shot up 25.57 percent to $37.58 after the company agreed to be acquired by Georgia-Pacific LLC. Shares of Boyd Gaming

got a boost, shooting up 17.21 percent to $10.49 after the company reported upbeat Q1 profit. iRobot

was also up, gaining 15.47 percent to $28.47 on strong Q1 results.

Edwards Lifesciences

was down, falling 22.85 percent to $63.89 after the company lowered its forecast. Shares of Unisys

were down 22.70 percent to $15.90 on Q1 results. DeVry

shares tumbled 21.05 percent to $26.86 after the company reported weak Q3 revenue.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.88 percent to $90.86, while gold traded up 1.06 percent to $1,423.70. Silver traded up 0.39 percent Wednesday to $22.96, while copper rose 2.56 percent to $3.18.

European shares were higher on hopes of an ECB rate cut next week. Credit Suisse, UBS, Barclays and Commerzbank all recently updated forecasts and expect a rate cut next week now. The German IFO Business Climate Index for April declined to 104.4 in April from 106.7 in March on expectations of a reading of 106.2. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.21 percent while the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 0.44 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.32 percent and the French CAC gained 1.58 percent and U.K. shares surged 0.40 percent.

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity increased 0.2% in the latest week ended April 19. Orders for durable goods declined 5.7% in March. However, economists were projecting a 3.2% fall. Crude oil supplies climbed 900,000 barrels for the week ended April 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a 1.4 million-barrel rise.