Markets Edge Higher; Constellation Brands Profit Beats Street View

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.08 percent to 16,970.28 while the NASDAQ surged 0.16 percent to 4,465.61. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.07 percent to 1,974.70.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials sector was the top gainer in Wednesday’s morning trading. Top gainers in the sector included A. Schulman SHLM, up 3 percent, and Aluminum Corporation Of China ACH, up 2.5 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.57 percent. Top losers in the sector included FirstEnergy FE, down 2.3 percent, and Exelon EXC, off 1.9 percent.

Top Headline

Constellation Brands STZ reported upbeat results for its fiscal first quarter and lifted its FY15 forecast outlook.

Constellation Brands posted its quarterly profit of $207 million, or $1.03 per share, up from $52.9 million, or $0.27 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.07 per share in the quarter.

Its sales surged to $1.526 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.93 per share on sales of $1.41 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Shutterfly SFLY shares shot up 11.54 percent to $48.53 on rumors the company may seek a buyer for itself.

Shares of The Greenbrier Companies GBX got a boost, shooting up 9.27 percent to $63.06 after the company reported upbeat third-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year outlook.

Rackspace Hosting RAX shares were also up, gaining 6.07 percent to $35.80 after TechCrunch reported that Rackspace may be considering taking the company private, according to multiple sources.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of CalAmp CAMP were down 12.52 percent to $19.30 after the company issued a weak forecast for the second quarter. It expected Q2 earnings of $0.17 to $0.21 per share on revenue of $57 million to $61 million. Analysts estimated earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $62.2 million.

Delta Air Lines DAL shares tumbled 5.48 percent to $38.10. Delta reported June PRASM growth of 4.5%. It expects Q2 operating margin of 14% to 16% and operating cash flow of $2 billion.

GoPro GPRO was down, falling 10.21 percent to $43.82 after surging for four sessions.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.45 percent to $104.87, while gold traded up 0.02 percent to $1,326.90.

Silver traded down 0.13 percent Wednesday to $21.09, while copper rose 0.75 percent to $3.23.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today.

The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.33 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.04 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.72 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.13 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.10 percent while UK shares climbed 0.31 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity dropped 0.20% in the week ended June 27.

Private-sector employers added 281,000 jobs in June, versus a 179,000 gain in May, according to Automatic Data Processing. However, economists were projecting an addition of 205,000 jobs.

US factory orders declined 0.50% in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.30% drop.