Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Plug Power Dips On Wider-Than-Expected Loss; Matson Shares Surge

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.07 percent to 17,603.15 while the NASDAQ gained 0.20 percent to 4,670.02. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.10 percent to 2,037.69.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Cyclical consumer goods & services shares jumped by 0.39 percent on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included Meritor MTOR, up 11.2 percent, and Escalade ESCA, up 10.4 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.59 percent. Top losers in the sector included Korea Electric Power KEP, down 6.6 percent, and ITC Holdings ITC, off 2.9 percent.

Top Headline

Macy's M reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. However, the company’s revenue missed analysts’ estimates. The company also lowered its outlook for the year.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company posted a quarterly profit of $217 million, or $0.61 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $177 million, or $0.47 per share.

Its revenue slipped 1.3% to $6.2 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.51 per share on revenue of $6.37 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Susquehanna Bancshares SUSQ shares shot up 32.17 percent to $13.09 after BB&T BBT announced its plans to acquire Susquehanna Bancshares in a cash and stock transaction valued at around $2.5 billion.

Shares of Matson MATX got a boost, shooting up 18.82 percent to $34.73 after the company announced its plans to acquire Horizon's Alaska operations. Stifel analyst Benjamin Nolan raised the price target on the stock from $36.00 to $39.00.

Meritor MTOR shares were also up, gaining 11.24 percent to $13.66 after the company reported better-than-expected FQ4 results and issued a strong FY15 earnings forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Plug Power PLUG were down 15.16 percent to $4.31 after the company posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. ASPS shares tumbled 15.51 percent to $61.49 after the company reported that it is discontinuing its Lender Placed Insurance brokerage line of business.

SeaWorld Entertainment SEAS was down, falling 9.62 percent to $16.81 after the company reported a weaker-than-expected profit for the third quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.86 percent to $77.27, while gold traded down 0.52 percent to $1,157.00.

Silver traded down 0.37 percent Wednesday to $15.62, while copper fell 0.33 percent to $3.02.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 1.13 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 1.76 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 2.87 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.69 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 1.51 percent while UK shares dropped 0.25 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 0.9% in the week ended Nov. 7.

US wholesale inventories increased 0.3% in September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2% growth.