Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Saia Drops On Weak Results; Chicago Bridge & Iron Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.52 percent to 17,672.26 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.61 percent to 5,060.67. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.59 percent to 2,078.13. Leading and Lagging Sectors In trading on Wednesday, energy shares jumped by 1.13 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Petrobras Argentina SA ADR PZE, up 13 percent, and Legacy Reserves LP LGCY, up 14 percent. In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares dipped by 1.24 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Edison International EIX, down 6 percent, and PG&E Corporation PCG, off 3 percent. Top Headline Hershey Co HSY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. The Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company posted quarterly net income of $154.8 million, or $0.70 per share, compared to $223.7 million, or $1.00 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.17 per share. Its sales declined to $1.961 billion from $1.962 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of $1.98 billion. Equities Trading UP Cnova NV CNV shares shot up 13 percent to $3.38. Cnova posted Q3 adjusted loss of $0.07 per share on revenue of $869.2 million. Shares of Gibraltar Industries Inc ROCK got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $24.37 on upbeat Q3 results. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. CBI shares were also up, gaining 15 percent to $44.63 after the company agreed to sell its nuclear construction business to Westinghouse Electric Company LLC for $229 million. Equities Trading DOWN Akamai Technologies, Inc. AKAM shares tumbled 18 percent to $61.97. Akamai Technologies reported upbeat Q3 earnings, but the company issued a weak forecast for the current quarter. JP Morgan downgraded Akamai Technologies from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $75.00 to $65.00. Shares of Saia Inc SAIA were down 22 percent to $23.38 on weak Q3 results. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA was down, falling 11 percent to $85.14. Walgreens Boots Alliance reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter and announced plans to buy Rite Aid Corp. RAD for a total enterprise value of around $17.2 billion. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 5.81 percent to $45.71, while gold traded down 0.26 percent to $1,162.80. Silver traded up 0.96 percent Wednesday to $16.02, while copper fell 0.70 percent to $2.35. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 jumped 1.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.96 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.41 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX surged 1.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.90 percent, while U.K. shares rose 1.14 percent. Economics The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 3.50 percent in the week ended October 23, 2015. Crude supplies rose 3.4 million barrels for the week ended October 23, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were projecting supplies to rise by 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies slipped 1.1 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 3 million barrels last week. The Federal Open Market Committee announced its policy decision.