Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Flat; Coca-Cola Earnings Top Expectations

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.04 percent to 18,061.65 while the NASDAQ declined 0.06 percent to 4,937.53. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.01 percent to 2,101.00.

On Wednesday, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from

and

. In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell by 0.52 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 9 percent, and

, down 3 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday. Coke posted a quarterly profit of $1.48 billion, or $0.34 per share, compared to $1.56 billion, or $0.35 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company's earnings came in at $0.45 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.44 per share. Its revenue declined 4 percent to $10.28 billion, versus analysts' expectations of $10.28 billion.

shares shot up 41 percent to $4.03 after the company agreed to be acquired by Auris Surgical. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $58.63 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings. The company's board of directors also authorized a $1.2 billion share buyback program.

shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $65.20 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings.

shares dropped 14 percent to $14.95. CalAmp reported in-line Q4 earnings, but the company issued a weak forecast for the full year. Shares of

were down 15 percent to $36.58. Flexsteel Industries reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $125.4 million

was down, falling around 23 percent to $8.19. Argos Therapeutics reported plans to reduce workforce by 13 percent and announced the resignation of its COO Fred Miesowicz.

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.97 percent to $40.27 while gold traded down 0.17 percent to $1,252.20. Silver traded up 0.81 percent Wednesday to $17.11, while copper fell 0.02 percent to $2.23.

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.07 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.28 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 0.36 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.16 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.10 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.21 percent.

Existing home sales increased 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.33 million in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, economists were expecting a 5.3 million rate.