Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower, Deere Posts Higher Q3 Profit

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.33 percent to 15,399.33 while the NASDAQ declined 0.07 percent to 3,681.68. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.13 percent to 1,691.98. Top Headline
Deere & Co DE reported a rise in its third-quarter profit. Deere's quarterly profit surged to $997 million, or $2.56 per share, from $788 million, or $1.98 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue surged to $10.0 billion from $9.6 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $2.17 per share on revenue of $9.18 billion. Deere also lifted its full-year profit forecast to $3.45 billion. Equities Trading UP
MannKind MNKD shot up 17.78 percent to $8.08 after the company reported positive clinical data for AFREZZA. Shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals AVNR got a boost, shooting up 5.98 percent to $4.84 after the company reported settlement of NUEDEXTA patent litigation with Sandoz. Brocade Communications Systems BRCD was also up, gaining 15.65 percent to $7.98 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Millennial Media MM were down 19.88 percent to $6.81. Millennial Media announced its plans to acquire Jumptap for around $225 million in stock. Analysts at Northland Capital and Canaccord Genuity also downgraded the stock. Cree CREE shares tumbled 19.14 percent to $61.26 after the company issued a weak forecast for its fiscal first quarter. The ExOne Company XONE was down, falling 9.08 percent to $68.80 after the company reported a wider-than-expected Q2 loss. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.58 percent to $106.21, while gold traded down 0.03 percent to $1,320.10. Silver traded up 0.48 percent Wednesday to $21.45, while copper rose 0.12 percent to $3.33. Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher following the multitude of economic data. The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.06 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.20 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.24 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.58 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.01 percent. Economics
The Mortgage Bankers Association index of purchase activity declined 4.7% in the week ended August 9 versus the earlier week. US wholesale prices came in unchanged in July, while the core PPI rose 0.1%. However, economists were projecting the overall PPI to increase 0.3%, and the PPI to rise 0.2%. Fed's James Bullard is expected to speak today.