Mid-Day Market Update: Wausau Paper Jumps On Acquisition News; AIXTRON Shares Slide

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.04 percent to 17,138.94 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.09 percent to 4,842.73. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.02 percent to 2,017.83.

In trading on Tuesday, technology shares climbed by 0.06 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

, up 11 percent, and

, up 6 percent. In trading on Tuesday, telecommunications services shares dipped by 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 4 percent, and

, off 3 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter and lifted its earnings forecast for the full year. However, the company reported a decline in its quarterly sales. The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company reported quarterly net earnings of $3.36 billion, or $1.20 per share, compared to $4.75 billion, or $1.66 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $1.49 per share. Its sales dropped 7.4 percent year-over-year to $17.1 billion for the third quarter. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.45 per share on revenue of $17.5 billion.

shares shot up 39 percent to $10.11 after the company agreed to be acquired by SCA for $10.25 per share. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $10.49 after the company agreed to be acquired by

for $11.40 per share.

shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $86.79.

and

agreed to a $106 billion merger deal.

shares tumbled 17 percent to $36.67 after the company said it may not re-initiate enrollment in MVAD clinical trial in November as previously expected. Shares of

were down 11 percent to $5.82 after the company lowered its FY15 guidance.

was down, falling 9 percent to $68.93 after the company lowered its earnings forecast for 2015.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.27 percent to $47.70, while gold traded up 0.04 percent to $1,165.00. Silver traded up 0.57 percent Tuesday to $15.96, while copper fell 0.68 percent to $2.40.

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.80 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.22 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.78 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.97 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.35 percent.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.2 points to 96.1 in September. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.2 percent in the first week of October versus September.