Mid-Day Market Update: Blue Buffalo Pet Products Rises Following Strong Q4 Results; Ocean Rig UDW Shares Slide

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.40 percent to 17,031.22 while the NASDAQ surged 0.45 percent to 4,669.62. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.53 percent to 1,989.82.

On Wednesday, energy shares rose by 1.03 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares dipped by 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 6 percent, and

, down 5 percent.

better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for the full year. The apparel chain expects Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.25 to $0.28 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.26 per share. For the full year, the company projects adjusted earnings of $1.56 to $1.71 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.58 per share. Express posted a quarterly profit of $56.1 million, or $0.67 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $41.8 million, or $0.49 per share. Its revenue gained 5 percent to $765.6 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.65 per share on revenue of $769.34 million.

shares shot up 18 percent to $13.83 as the company confirmed a deal with

to operate air transport network. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $22.38 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and issued an upbeat earnings forecast for the full year.

shares were also up, gaining 32 percent to $8.92 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results.

shares dropped 22 percent to $8.64 after the company reported a proposed $150 million private offering of Convertible Senior Notes. Shares of

were down 20 percent to $1.15. Ocean Rig UDW reported a Q4 loss of $1.26 per share on revenue of $475.727 million.

was down, falling around 14 percent to $9.00 after the company reported downbeat results for its fourth quarter and announced the closing of its acquisition of mophiefor $100 million.

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.16 percent to $37.29, while gold traded down 1.04 percent to $1,249.80. Silver traded down 0.16 percent Wednesday to $15.37, while copper rose 0.92 percent to $2.24.

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.48 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.24 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index jumped 0.98 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.61 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.53 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.01 percent.

US wholesale inventories rose 0.30 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent drop. Crude oil supplies gained 3.9 million barrels for the week ended March 4, 2016, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a rise of 3 million barrels. Gasoline supplies slipped 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 1.1 million barrels last week.