Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NASDAQ Rises Over 1%; Dycom Industries Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.22 percent to 21,913.33 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.09 percent to 6,370.72. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.56 percent to 2,459.95.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, the technology shares climbed by 0.79 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Microvision, Inc. MVIS, up 7 percent, and Kopin Corporation KOPN, up 7 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares fell 0.21 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Bristow Group Inc BRS, down 8 percent, and Frontline Ltd. FRO down 9 percent.

Top Headline

Analog Devices, Inc. ADI posted upbeat earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.

Analog Devices posted quarterly earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.15 per share on revenue of $1.4 billion.

Analog Devices expects Q4 earnings of $1.29 to $1.43 per share, on revenue of $1.45 billion to $1.55 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $1.24 per share on sales of $1.45 billion.

Equities Trading UP

AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV shares shot up 17 percent to $46.16 after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares of Mazor Robotics Ltd - ADR MZOR got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $46.97 following announcement of Medtronic making a $40 million third tranche investment in the company.

Universal Display Corporation OLED shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $124.40. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Universal Display with a Buy rating and a $135.00 price target.

Equities Trading DOWN

Otonomy Inc OTIC shares dropped 82 percent to $3.80 after the biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on diseases and disorders of the ear, provided a disappointing update to an ongoing clinical trial. Otonomy has been overseeing a Phase 3 trial called AVERTS-1 for the treatment of patients with Ménière's disease. Unfortunately, the company announced its trial that examined its OTIVIDEX therapy and enrolled 165 patients failed to meet its primary endpoint, which was the count of definitive vertigo days by Poisson Regression analysis. As such, the company will immediately suspend all development activities for OTIVIDEX and will conduct a review of its product pipeline plans and commercial efforts to identify opportunities moving forward. JP Morgan downgraded Otonomy from Overweight to Neutral.

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education Inc BNED were down 16 percent to $5.73 after the company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Dycom Industries, Inc. DY was down, falling around 7 percent to $76.65. Dycom reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company also issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.90 percent to $46.02 while gold traded down 0.33 percent to $1,314.60.

Silver traded down 0.03 percent Wednesday to $17.51, while copper fell 0.47 percent to $3.09.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.70 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.52 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.44 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.47 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.49 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.38 percent.

Economics

The MBA's index of mortgage application activity declined 2.3 percent for the latest week.

Private-sector employers added 237,000 jobs during August, ADP reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 183,000 jobs.

Gross domestic product increased at a rate of 3 percent in the second quarter, versus an initial reading of 2.6 percent. Economists projected a 2.7 percent rate for the quarter.

Domestic crude supplies declined 5.4 million barrels for the week ended August 25, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were estimating a drop of 1.91 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles rose 35,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 748,000 barrels last week.

Data on farm prices for July will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.