Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NASDAQ Down 1.8%; DuPont Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.58 percent to 17,466.28 while the NASDAQ declined 1.80 percent to 5,006.36. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.02 percent to 2,042.47.

In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares rose by 1.14 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 11 percent, and

, up 8 percent. Technology shares tumbled by 1.83 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included

,

, and

.

reported upbeat results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. The company posted quarterly income from continuing operations of $10.3 million, or $0.27 per share, compared to $8.7 million, or $0.21 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.27 per share. Its sales climbed to $126.7 millon from $125.2 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $121.14 million.

shares shot up 41 percent to $16.45 after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $74.35. The Wall Street Journal reported that

and DuPont are engaged in advance talks to merge.

shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $27.88 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter.

shares tumbled 8 percent to $63.11. Oxford Industries reported downbeat Q3 revenue and lowered its FY16 forecast. Shares of

were down 12 percent to $45.71 following quarterly results. Lululemon reported Q3 earnings of $0.35 per share on revenue of $479.7 million.

was down, falling 31 percent to $6.18. On Tuesday, Sigma Designs reported Q3 earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $61.6 million.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.64 percent to $37.27, while gold traded down 0.22 percent to $1,072.90. Silver traded up 0.24 percent Wednesday to $14.15, while copper rose 0.56 percent to $2.07.

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.43 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.02 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.17 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.76 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.95 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.14 percent.

US wholesale inventories declined 0.10 percent in October, versus economists' expectations for a 0.10 percent growth. Crude supplies slipped by 3.6 million barrels for the week ended December 4, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting supplies to rise by 252,000 barrels. Gasoline supplies gained 800,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles surged 5 million barrels last week.