Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Boeing Issues Weak 2016 Outlook

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.57 percent to 16,074.61 while the NASDAQ dipped 0.55 percent to 4,542.35. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.22 percent to 1,899.48.

On Wednesday, telecommunications services shares rose by 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 4 percent, and

up 3 percent. In trading on Wednesday, technology shares dipped by 0.94 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 10 percent, and

, down 8 percent.

reported upbeat Q4 earnings, but the company issued a weak forecast for 2016. Boeing earned $1.60 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $23.6 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.27 per share on revenue of $23.55 billion. Looking forward to fiscal 2016, Boeing expects to earn $8.15 to $8.35 per share on revenue of $93 billion to $95 billion. Wall Street analysts were projecting the company to earn $9.43 per share on revenue of $97.17 billion.

shares shot up 20 percent to $1.55 as the company reported an exclusive nationwide distribution agreement for CoSense on Tuesday. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 16 percent to $36.35 after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q3 results.

shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $2.75 on announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the biopharmaceutical company's investigational new drug (IND) application for ProTmune.

shares dropped 17 percent to $3.13 after the company issued financial and operational update for 2015. Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded Bill Barrett from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target to $4.00. Shares of

were down 14 percent to $11.58 after the company reported downbeat Q4 earnings.

was down, falling around 12 percent to $45.20 as the company reported weaker-than-expected Q4 results.

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.29 percent to $30.73, while gold traded down 0.20 percent to $1,118.40. Silver traded down 0.44 percent Wednesday to $14.50, while copper rose 0.34 percent to $2.04.

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.39 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.09 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 1.36 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.04 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.23 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.04 percent.

Sales of new homes surged 10.8 percent to an annual pace of 544,000 in December. However, economists were expecting a 500,000 rate. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.