Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Apple Results Top Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.45 percent to 17,466.23, while the NASDAQ jumped 0.99 percent to 4,727.66. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.56 percent to 2,040.84.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Wednesday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.57 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Freescale Semiconductor, Ltd. FSL, up 25 percent, and Apple Inc. AAPL, up 7.5 percent.

Energy shares dropped by 1.82 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras PBR, down 11.8 percent, Flotek Industries Inc. FTK, off 11.5 percent.

Top Headline

Apple Inc. AAPL announced

better-than-expected financial results Tuesday for its fiscal 2015 first quarter.

The company posted record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion, well above estimates of $67.69 billion and the $57.59 billion reported in the year-ago period. Net profit was also a record at $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, above estimates of $2.60 per diluted share and the $2.07 reported in the prior year period.

iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million in the quarter also set a new record according to the company.

Equities Trading UP

ABIOMED, Inc. ABMD shares shot up 34.60 percent to $51.99 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The company also received the FDA HDE approval for the Impella RP.

Shares of Freescale Semiconductor, Ltd. FSL got a boost, shooting up 26.76 percent to $33.40 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings.

Tupperware Brands Corporation TUP shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $67.50 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. ETH shares tumbled 10.02 percent to $28.48 after the company reported downbeat Q2 earnings.

Shares of Radware Ltd. RDWR were down 10.67 percent to $20.00. Radware reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share on revenue of $61 million.

Open Text Corporation OTEX was down, falling 10.09 percent to $53.58. Open Text reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.97 per share on revenue of $467.8 million. Credit Suisse downgraded Open Text from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $65.00 to $60.00.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.23 percent to $45.20, while gold traded down 0.53 percent to $1,286.00.

Silver traded down 0.33 percent Wednesday to $18.03, while copper rose 0.49 percent to $2.47.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.14 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 1.4 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.51 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.56 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.28 percent while UK shares dropped 0.02 percent.

Economics

The Treasury is set to auction 2-year notes.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.