Mid-Day Market Update: Markets Turn Upwards; Scholastic Corporation Takes a Beating

Mid-Way through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.36 percent to 12,834.18 while the NASDAQ rose 0.25 percent to 2,923.83. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.17 percent to 1,390.15. Top Headline
Last night it was announced that the mediated negotiations between Hostess and the Bakers Union had failed, and that the company would move forward with liquidation. As such, Flowers Foods FLO, a publicly traded baker, saw just under a 5 percent boost. Equities Trading UP
VIVUS VVUS traded up 14.78 percent following the market opening to $11.88 after Aetna favorable revised its obesity drug policy. Shares of MBIA MBI were also up, gaining 11.23 percent to $8.02 after the company recommended a rejection of Bank of America's tender offer Tuesday. Skechers USA SKX rose 12.23 percent to $19.04 after an upgrade at Susquehanna. Equities Trading DOWN
Best Buy BBY traded down 3.97 percent to $11.49 following a poor earnings report Tuesday. Scholastic Corporation SCHL plummeted 17.93 percent to $26.13 after the company lowered its guidance. Shares of St. Jude Medical STJ fell 13.27 percent to $30.97 following a series of negative analyst reports this morning. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.01 percent to $86.74, while gold traded up 0.15 percent to $1,725.80. Silver traded up 0.39 percent Wednesday to $33.32. Eurozone
In the eurozone, markets were largely down following the Moody's downgrade of France to Aa1 and the failure to come the compromise needed to give Greece its bailout. Negotiations are set to re-start Monday. Economics
In economic news, the Markit US PMI came in at 52.4, above the expected 51.0 and the prior report of 51.3. Michigan consumer sentiment was also released, coming in at 82.7, below the expected 84.5 and the last report of 84.9. Continuing jobless claims came in at 3.33 million, below the expected 3.345 million and the prior report of 3.367 million, while initial claims came in as expected at 410 thousand, but below the last report of 451 thousand.