Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Gains Over 250 Points; Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 1.63 percent to 16,460.17 while the NASDAQ climbed 2.20 percent to 4,533.45. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.69 percent to 1,927.52.

On Wednesday, energy shares surged by 3.59 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 18 percent, and

up 18 percent. In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares rose by just 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 7 percent, and

, down 3 percent.

reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Priceline said it earned $12.63 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $2 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $11.80 per share on revenue of $1.96 billion. Looking forward to the first fiscal quarter, Priceline expects to earn between $9 and $9.60 per share. Priceline also expects its first quarter revenue to rise 9 to 16 percent.

shares shot up 13 percent to $7.10 after the company announced interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study. Regulus Therapeutics' Phase 2 study of RG-101 for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus infection (HCV) was designed to evaluate a shortened, four-week treatment regimen containing a subcutaneous administration of 2 mg/kg of RG-101 at Day 1 and Day 29, in combination with 4 weeks of daily approved anti-viral agents. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 26 percent to $43.25 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.

shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $1,232.37 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

shares dropped 23 percent to $5.57. Midcoast Energy Partners reported a Q4 loss of $3.8 million on revenue of $528.1 million. Shares of

were down 37 percent to $1.17 after the company disclosed it received a "Refusal to File" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The "Refusal to File" letter was sent to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals regarding its New Drug Application for Firdapse, an investigational drug candidate for the symptomatic treatment of Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome and congenital myasthenic syndromes.

was down, falling around 18 percent to $3.53. Zix posted Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $14.3 million.

In commodity news, oil traded up 4.92 percent to $30.47, while gold traded up 0.21 percent to $1,210.70. Silver traded up 0.17 percent Wednesday to $15.36, while copper rose 0.83 percent to $2.07.

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 2.62 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.79 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 2.48 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 2.65 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 2.99 percent, while U.K. shares rose 2.87 percent.

The producer price index gained 0.1 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent decline. US housing starts dropped 3.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.1 million in January. However, economists were expecting an annual rate of 1.18 million for the month. US industrial production rose 0.90 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.40 percent growth. The Federal Open Market Committee issued

meeting.