Wrapping up this Wednesday of trading, the Dow traded up 0.44 percent to 17,135.90 while the NASDAQ jumped 0.46 percent to 4,436.65. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.45 percent to 1,982.24.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.85 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Joy Global JOY, up 7.78 percent, and Cliffs Natural Resources CLF, up 5.74 percent.
Healthcare shares dropped by 0.34 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included POZEN POZN, down 7.57 percent, and Ligand Pharmaceuticals LGND, off 6.77 percent.
Top Headline
Bank of America BAC reported a 43% drop in its second-quarter earnings.
The bank’s quarterly profit declined to $$2.29 billion, or $0.19 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $4.01 billion, or $0.32 per share. The latest quarter results included a litigation charge of $4 billion, or $0.22 per share.
Its revenue slipped 4% to $21.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.27 per share on revenue of $21.65 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Time Warner TWX shares shot up 17 percent to $83.00 after the company confirmed that it rejected a proposal from Twenty-First Century Fox FOXA to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company.
Shares of Intel INTC got a boost, shooting up 8.17 percent to $34.30 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings. Analysts at UBS upgraded Intel from Neutral to Buy and raised the target price from $30 to $37.50.
HCA Holdings HCA shares were also up, gaining 10.32 percent to $60.91 after the company lifted its 2014 earnings forecast.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Interactive Intelligence Group ININ were down 15.47 percent to $42.25 as the company warned that Q2 results will be below expectations.
BlackBerry BBRY shares tumbled 10.18 percent to $10.16 on Apple-IBM deal news.
Yahoo! YHOO was down, falling 4.90 percent to $33.87 after the company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. The company announced it will reduce the number of shares being offered in the Alibaba IPO from 208 million shares to 140 million shares.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.17 percent to $101.13, while gold traded up 0.08 percent to $1,298.20.
Silver traded down 0.67 percent Wednesday to $20.75, while copper fell 1.06 percent to $3.21.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.34 percent, the Spanish IBEX Index jumped 1.84 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 3.17 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 1.44 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 1.48 percent while UK shares surged 1.11 percent.
Economics
Industrial production increased 0.2% in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.3% gain.
The producer price index gained 0.4% in June, versus a 0.2% drop in May. However, economists were expecting a 0.3% rise in the index.
The NAHB housing market index increased 4 points to 53 in July, versus a reading of 49 in June. However, economists were projecting a reading of 50.
US crude-oil inventories declined 7.5 million barrels in the week ended July 11, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were estimating a fall of 3 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles increased 200,000 barrels, while distillate inventories rose 2.5 million barrels.
The Federal Reserve Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET showed most districts were optimistic on economic outlook.
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