Mid-Day Market Update: Apple Surges On Upbeat Results, Broadcom Shares Tumble

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.06 percent to 15,558.93 while the NASDAQ surged 0.45 percent to 3,595.54. The S&P also fell, declining 0.11 percent to 1,690.58.

Top Headline
Ford F reported a rise in its second-quarter profit and lifted its view for the year. Ford's quarterly profit surged to $1.23 billion, or $0.30 per share, versus a profit of $1.04 billion, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, Ford earned $0.45 per share. Its revenue increased to $38.1 billion from $33.3 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $34.94 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Maidenform Brands MFB shot up 22.78 percent to $23.44 after the company agreed to be acquired by HanesBrands HBI for $23.50 per share in cash. Shares of Electronic Arts EA got a boost, shooting up 12.07 percent to $26.70 after the company reported narrower-than-expected Q1 loss. Apple AAPL was also up, gaining 5.91 percent to $443.75 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Broadcom BRCM were down 14.86 percent to $27.10 after the company issued weak revenue forecast for the third quarter. Polycom PLCM was down, falling 11.81 percent to $9.86 after the company announced the resignation of its CEO. Analysts at RBC Capital also downgraded the stock from Sector Perform to Underperform. Walter Energy WLT shares tumbled 14.43 percent to $12.06 after the company lowered its quarterly dividend to 1 cent per share from 12.5 cents per share. The company also reported that its credit facility has been amended.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.38 percent to $105.75, while gold traded down 0.48 percent to $1,328.80. Silver traded down 0.54 percent Wednesday to $20.15, while copper rose 0.25 percent to $3.21.

Euro zone
European shares were higher on better-than-expected PMI data. Eurozone PMIs strongly beat expectations in both the manufacturing and services sectors. The flash reading of the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.1 for the first half of July from 48.8 in June, beating expectations of a reading of 49.1 while the services PMI rose to 49.6 from 48.3 on expectations of a reading of 48.7. The Spanish Ibex Index surged 1.47 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.26 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.78 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 1.01 percent while U.K. shares climbed 0.35 percent.

Economics
The MBA's index of mortgage application activity dropped 1.2 percent in the week ended July 19. The US flash manufacturing PMI surged to a reading of 53.2 in July, versus 51.9 in June, Markit reported. US new home sales increased 8.3 percent to an annual rate of 497,000 in June. However, economists were expecting sales to rise to 483,000 in June. Crude oil supplies declined 2.8 million barrels for the week ended July 19, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a 2.5 million-barrel fall. The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes.