Mid-Day Market Update: US Stocks Edge Higher; Valspar Shares Decline On Downbeat Results

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.15 percent to 15,442.26 while the NASDAQ surged 0.10 percent to 3,673.57. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.16 percent to 1,692.17.

Yesterday, Yum! Brands

reported a 13% fall in its July same-store sales in China. Yum's same-store sales fell 10% in June. However, analysts were expecting a 7.1% drop in July same-restaurant sales in China. Analysts at Buckingham Research downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals

shot up 3.56 percent to $4.66 after the company announced an

to co-promote Merck's type 2 diabetes therapies. Shares of NQ Mobile

got a boost, shooting up 15.21 percent to $18.32 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results and issued strong revenue forecast. Osiris Therapeutics

was also up, gaining 115.76 percent to $23.00 after the company reported

to treat diabetic foot ulcers.

Shares of Orbitz Worldwide

were down 12.31 percent to $10.30 after the company reported that PAR Capital Management has sold 8.1 million of its 24.6 million shares of Orbitz Worldwide stock. The Valspar

shares tumbled 7.80 percent to $65.25 after the company reported downbeat Q3 results. InterOil

was down, falling 9.99 percent to $75.59 after the company reported wider-than-expected Q2 loss.

In commodity news,

to $105.76, while gold traded down 1.06 percent to $1,320.00. Silver traded up 0.01 percent Tuesday to $21.34, while copper rose 0.15 percent to $3.31.

European shares were

The Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.47 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.68 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.68 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.51 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.57 percent.

The NFIB small-business optimism index gained 0.6 points to 94.1 in July. The ICSC/Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index dropped 0.2% in the latest week ended Saturday versus the previous week. US retail sales rose 0.2% in July, versus economists' expectations for a 0.3% increase. US imports increased 0.2% in July, versus economists' estimates of a 0.8% rise. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index rose 3.7% y/y in the first week of August. US business inventories came in flat in June. However, economists were expecting inventories to increase 0.2% in June.