Markets Rise; Macy's Lowers Comparable Sales Outlook

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.19 percent to 16,591.30 while the NASDAQ surged 0.51 percent to 4,411.46. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.28 percent to 1,939.22.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials shares dropped by 0.28 percent in today’s trading. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Packaging Corporation of America PKG, down 3 percent, and Intrepid Potash IPI, off 2.6 percent.

Top Headline

Macy's now projects full-year same-store sales to rise 1.5% to 2%, versus its earlier outlook for a rise of 2.5% to 3%. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company's quarterly net income surged to $292 million, or $0.80 per share, versus $281 million, or $0.72 per share, in the year-ago period. Its sales climbed to $6.27 billion versus $6.07 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.86 per share on revenue of $6.30 billion.

Equities Trading UP Canadian Solar CSIQ shares shot up 14.02 percent to $28.47 after the company posted a profit in the second quarter.

Shares of FuelCell Energy FCEL got a boost, shooting up 4.41 percent to $2.37 after Cowen & Company upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform and announced a $3.00 price target.

Amazon.com AMZN shares were also up, gaining 2.89 percent to $328.55 on announcement of Local Register card reader.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment SEAS were down 26.11 percent to $20.80 after the company reported downbeat second-quarter results and lowered its full-year forecast.

King Digital Entertainment plc KING shares tumbled 23.24 percent to $13.97 after the company reported weak second-quarter revenue and cut its full-year forecast. Five analysts downgraded King Digital on Wednesday.

Myriad Genetics MYGN was down, falling 8.79 percent to $35.57 after the company issued a downbeat profit forecast.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.05 percent to $97.32, while gold traded up 0.27 percent to $1,314.10.

Silver traded up 0.65 percent Wednesday to $20.04, while copper fell 0.63 percent to $3.13.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.26 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.41 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.62 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.02 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.69 percent while UK shares climbed 0.31 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity dropped 2.7% in the week ended August 8. US business inventories rose 0.40% in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.40% growth.

The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes.