Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged; Green Dot Rises

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.33 percent to 15,571.73 while the NASDAQ surged 0.72 percent to 3,642.51. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.32 percent to 1,691.42.

MasterCard

reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit. MasterCard's quarterly profit surged to $848 million, or $6.96 per share, from $700 million, or $5.55 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 15% to $2.1 billion from $1.82 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $6.30 per share on revenue of $1.90 billion.

Trius Therapeutics

shot up 18.70 percent to $13.90 after the company

by Cubist Pharmaceuticals

. Shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals

got a boost,

to $66.30 after the company reported upbeat Q2 earnings. Green Dot

was also up, gaining 16.06 percent to $23.34 after the company posted a strong 4th quarter report after the close Tuesday and gave some equally strong guidance.

Shares of Riverbed Technology

were down 11.07 percent to $15.58 after the company reported downbeat second-quarter revenue. NuVassive

was also down, dropping 13.03 percent to $22.70 after news that the company had been subpoenaed broke Wednesday morning. Jive Software

was down, falling 20.56 percent to $13.56 on downbeat outlook.

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.10 percent to $105.24, while gold traded down 0.02 percent to $1,324.10. Silver traded up 1.50 percent Wednesday to $20.04, while copper rose 2.60 percent to $3.12.

European shares were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.51 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index declined 0.31 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.04 percent and the French CAC 40 tumbled 0.05 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.09 percent.

The MBA's index of mortgage application activity fell 3.7% for the week ending July 26, 2013. US private firms added 200,000 jobs in July, according to the ADP National Employment Report. However, analysts were projecting a rise of 185,000 jobs in July. The employment costs index gained 0.5% in the second quarter, versus economists' expectations for a 0.4% rise. The US economy expanded at a 1.7% annual rate in the second quarter, versus a downwardly revised growth of 1.1% in the first quarter. However, economists were expecting a 1.0% growth in the second quarter. The Chicago PMI rose to 52.30 in July, versus a prior reading of 51.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 54.0. Crude oil supplies rose 400,000 barrels for the week ended July 26, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a 3 million-barrel drop. The FOMC will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.