Mid-Day Market Update: U.S. Stocks Rise; Cree Shares Decline On Weak Outlook

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.30 percent to 17,656.47 while the NASDAQ gained 0.70 percent to 4,877.75. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.50 percent to 2,055.37.

On Wednesday, healthcare shares gained by 1.36 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 10 percent, and

, up 11 percent. In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares tumbled by 0.81 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 7 percent, and

, down 7 percent.

reported weaker-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter. Monsanto posted quarterly net income of $1.06 billion, or $2.41 per share, compared to $1.43 billion, or $2.92 per share, in the year-ago period. Its earnings per share from ongoing business came in at $2.42. Its total net sales declined 12.8 percent $4.53 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.44 per share on revenue of $4.76 billion. Looking forward to the full year fiscal 2016, Monsanto confirmed its fiscal 2016 ongoing earnings per share outlook of $4.40 to $5.10 per share versus Wall Street's expectations of $4.65 per share.

shares shot up 30 percent to $15.61. Tang Yan reported a 25.9 percent stake in Momo. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 11 percent to $248.92 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results.

shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $5.92 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings.

shares dropped 15 percent to $24.66 after the company issued a weak outlook for the third quarter. Shares of

were down 6 percent to $3.91 as the company reported the postponement of its Q4 and full year earnings release to April 11, 2016.

was down, falling around 15 percent to $12.33. Wunderlich downgraded Jernigan Capital from Hold to Sell.

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.23 percent to $37.05 while gold traded down 0.55 percent to $1,222.80. Silver traded down 0.83 percent Wednesday to $14.99, while copper fell 0.23 percent to $2.13.

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.41 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.23 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 0.09 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.36 percent.

U.S. crude supplies dropped 4.9 million barrels for the week ended April 1, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a gain of 2.9 million barrels. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.