Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Fed Minutes Lead to Market Drop

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.41 percent to 15,901.63 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.27 percent to 3,920.46. The S&P also fell, losing 0.38 percent to 1,781.97.

Top Headline
Lowe's Companies LOW reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook for fiscal 2013.

Lowe's quarterly earnings surged to $499 million, or $0.47 per share, from $396 million, or $0.35 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Its revenue climbed 7% to $12.96 billion from $12.07 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $12.73 billion. Its sales at stores open at least a year increased 6.2%.

Equities Trading UP
J. C. Penney Company JCP shot up 7.67 percent to $9.37 after the company reported a wider Q3 loss. J. C. Penney also projects gross margin and comparable sales to improve versus the year-ago period.

Shares of Herbalife HLF were up as well, gaining 5.75 percent to $69.77 after Charlie Gasparino reported Striritz is approaching Teamasek for an LBO deal on Herbalife.

La-Z-Boy LZB was also up, gaining 9.83 percent to $26.82 after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter results and lifted its dividend.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Seaspan SSW were down 9.73 percent to $21.15 after the company priced 3,500,000 equity offering at $22.00 per share.

The J. M. Smucker Company SJM shares tumbled 6.71 percent to $101.27 after the company reported a 3.1% rise in its fiscal second-quarter earnings and cut its sales forecast for the year.

Gropuon GRPN was also down on Wednesday's session, falling 5.91 percent to $9.24 after the company announced a new freebies category to its marketplace while Chairman Ted Leonsis made a filing to permit the sale of 150K of his shares in the company.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.22 percent to $93.68, while gold traded down 2.39 percent to $1,243.10.

Silver traded down 2.30 percent Wednesday to $19.91, while copper fell 0.35 percent to $3.15.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today.The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.83 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 0.21 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.07 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.09 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.22 percent.

Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 2.30% in the week ending November 15.

US retail sales rose 0.4% in October, versus economists' expectations for a 0.1% gain.

The consumer price index fell 0.1% in October, while the core CPI gained 0.1%. However, economists were projecting the overall index to increase 0.1% and the core rate to climb 0.1%.

Sales of existing homes dropped 3.2% to an annual rate of 5.12 million in October.

Business inventories rose 0.6% in September, versus economists' expectations for a 0.3% gain.

Crude supplies climbed 400,000 barrels for the week ending November 15, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a fall of 500,000 barrels.