Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; JPMorgan Beats Q1 Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.74 percent to 17,852.51 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.96 percent to 4,918.96. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.66 percent to 2,075.27.

On Wednesday, basic materials shares gained by 1.77 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 14 percent, and

, up 9 percent. In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 0.39 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 1.5 percent, and

, down 1.2 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday. The U.S. bank reported a quarterly profit of $5.52 billion, or $1.35 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $5.91 billion, or $1.45 per share. Its revenue declined 3 percent to $24.08 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $23.4 billion.

shares shot up 16 percent to $11.05. CyberOptics projects Q1 revenue of $18.6 million to $19.1 million. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $5.97 after the company announced favorable ruling from Sumitomo arbitration.

shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $49.90 driven by a report about a "rebuffed takeover approach" from

. Bloomberg reported shortly after the closing bell that Medivation, which focuses on treatments for hard-to-cure cancers, is seeking a higher price than initial proposals have indicated. Other suitors are also considering making an offer, people familiar with the matter said. .

shares dropped 8 percent to $13.13. JP Morgan downgraded Clovis Oncology from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $42.00 to $15.00. Shares of

were down 10 percent to $6.49. Layne Christensen reported a Q4 loss of $0.84 per share on revenue of $159.2 million.

was down, falling around 4 percent to $17.00. Forward Pharma reported a Q4 loss of $0.76 per share.

In commodity news, oil traded down 1 percent to $41.75 while gold traded down 0.98 percent to $1,248.60. Silver traded down 0.04 percent Wednesday to $16.22, while copper rose 0.75 percent to $2.16.

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 2.07 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.84 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 3.85 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 2.04 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 2.57 percent, while U.K. shares rose 1.52 percent.

U.S. retail sales declined 0.30 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.10 percent growth. U.S. producer prices dropped 0.10 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent gain. U.S. business inventories dropped 0.10 percent for February, versus economists' estimates for a 0.10 percent decline. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.