Mid-Day Market Update: Peabody Energy Slides Amid Possible Bankruptcy; Bio Blast Pharma Shares Surge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.02 percent to 17,254.33 while the NASDAQ gained 0.24 percent to 4,739.82. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 2,016.87. Leading and Lagging SectorsOn Wednesday, energy shares rose by 0.40 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE: TOO), W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI), and SemGroup Corp (NASDAQ: SEMG). In trading on Wednesday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dipped by 0.41 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP), down 5 percent, and Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC), down 4 percent.Top HeadlineOn Tuesday, Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter, but the company missed analysts' sales estimates. Oracle reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings of $0.64 per share versus estimates of $0.62. The company missed sales expectations ($9 billion versus $9.13 billion), but did announce a $10 billion buyback plan.The company additionally reported cloud revenues increased 40 percent year-over-year, while cloud SaaS/PaaS increased 61 percent year-over-year. The company also announced a $10 billion increase in its stock buyback program. Equities Trading UP Bio Blast Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: ORPN) shares shot up 106 percent to $5.43 as the company reported positive Phase 2 HOPEMD open-label clinical study of trehalose 90mg/ml in OPMD.Shares of China BAK Battery Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAK) got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $2.61 following announcement of a purchase contract with Sysgration. Goldfield Corp (NYSE: GV) shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $1.67. Goldfield reported net income of $0.09 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2015, versus a year-ago net loss of $0.06 loss per share.Equities Trading DOWN Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) shares dropped 43 percent to $2.27 after the coal miner said there exists substantial doubt whether it will be able to continue as a "going concern" and may need file for bankruptcy as it faces the worst industry downturn in several years.Shares of magicJack VocalTec Ltd (NASDAQ: CALL) were down 16 percent to $7.29. magicJack reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $24.6 million. The company also reported a deal to buy Broadsmart. DSW Inc. (NASDAQ: DSW) was down, falling around 6 percent to $26.62. Johnson Rice downgraded DSW from Buy to Accumulate. On Tuesday, DSW reported Q4 earnings of $0.14 per share on revenue of $672 million.CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 3.08 percent to $37.46, while gold traded up 0.16 percent to $1,233.00. Silver traded up 0.26 percent Wednesday to $15.30, while copper rose 0.20 percent to $2.24.EurozoneEuropean shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.09 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.43 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 0.23 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.35 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.22 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.55 percent.EconomicsUS housing starts increased 5.2 percent to an annual pace of 1.18 million in February. However, economists were projecting starts to rise at rate of 1.15 million.US consumer prices dropped 0.2 percent in February, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent decline.US industrial production slipped 0.50 percent in February, versus economists' expectations for a 0.30 percent drop.Crude oil supplies gained 1.3 million barrels for the week ended March 11, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a rise of 2.7 million barrels. Gasoline supplies declined 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles slipped 1.1 million barrels last week.The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.