Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Go Red, AOL Posts Weak Q1 Results

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.21 percent to 15,023.95 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.17 percent to 3,390.85. The S&P also fell, declining 0.17 percent to 1,623.12.

AOL

reported a 23% rise in its first-quarter profit. AOL's quarterly profit surged to $25.9 million, or $0.32 per share, versus $21.1 million, or $0.22 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted operating income came in at $105.3 million. Its revenue climbed to $538.3 million from $529.4 million. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.44 per share on revenue of $541 million.

WebMD Health

shot up 17.56 percent to $29.99 on Q1 results. Shares of Electronic Arts

got a boost, shooting up 13.20 percent to $20.84 on Q4 results. Whole Foods Market

was also up, gaining 9.04 percent to $101.18 after the company reported upbeat second-quarter results and announced a 2-for-1 stock split.

Fusion-io

was down, falling 22.17 percent to $14.01 after resignations of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. Shares of ValueClick

were down 18.06 percent to $26.01 after the company issued weak Q2 revenue view. Axiall

shares tumbled 9.21 percent to $51.31 on downbeat Q1 results.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.31 percent to $95.92, while gold traded up 1.17 percent to $1,465.70. Silver traded up 0.25 percent Wednesday to $23.87, while copper rose 2.30 percent to $3.38.

European shares were modestly higher following continued earnings momentum globally as well as following the positive sentiment from Asia on the back of the Chinese trade data. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.29 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 0.31 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX added 0.40 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.54 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.15 percent.

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity gained 7 percent in the week ended May 3. Fed Governor Jeremy Stein is set to speak. The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes.