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Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 18,045.56 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.31 percent to 5,120.61. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 2,110.08.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
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Healthcare shares jumped by 0.40 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA), up 10 percent, and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), up 9 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares slipped by 0.50 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: GLF), down 5 percent, and Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE: BAS), off 1.2 percent.
Top Headline
Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank posted quarterly net income of $5.32 billion, or $0.45 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $2.29 billion, or $0.19 per share.
Its revenue rose 1.8 percent to $22.35 billion from $21.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.36 per share on revenue of $21.32 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Receptos Inc (NASDAQ: RCPT) shares shot up 10 percent to $228.80 after Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced its plans to acquire Receptos for $7.2 billion.
Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) shares were also up, gaining 8 percent to $22.95. Guess named Paul Marciano as successor to the current CEO Maurice Marciano. Evercore analyst Omar Saad upgraded Guess? from Sell to Hold, while raising the target price to $22.
Shares of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) got a boost, shooting up 7 percent to $52.45. JP Morgan upgraded PTC Therapeutics from Neutral to Overweight.
Equities Trading DOWN
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Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: ATI) shares tumbled 9 percent to $25.65 after the company issued a weak Q2 forecast. Allegheny Tech projected a Q2 loss of $0.17 to $0.15 per share.
Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd (NASDAQ: MRTN) were down 8 percent to $20.91 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results.
Mead Johnson Nutrition CO (NYSE: MJN) was down, falling 4 percent to $84.70 after the company lowered its FY15 earnings guidance.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.13 percent to $52.44, while gold traded down 0.49 percent to $1,147.80.
Silver traded down 1.57 percent Wednesday to $15.08, while copper rose 0.18 percent to $2.54.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.44 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.69 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.95 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.34 percent while UK shares gained 0.17 percent.
Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity slipped 1.90 percent in the week ended July 10, 2015.
U.S. producer prices gained 0.4 percent in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise.
The Empire State manufacturing index climbed to 3.86 points in July, versus a negative reading of 1.98 in June. Economists were projecting a reading of 3.
Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent growth.
The Federal Reserve will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.