Market Wrap for Wednesday, October 16: Dow Up 205 Points on Debt Deal

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow closed up 1.36 percent to 15,373.83 while the NASDAQ surged 1.20 percent to 3,839.43. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.38 percent to close at 1,721.54.

Top Headline
Bank of America BAC reported a rise in its third-quarter profit. Bank of America's quarterly profit surged to $2.5 billion, from $340 million, in the year-earlier quarter. Its per share earnings came in at $0.20, beating analysts' estimates of $0.19 per share. Its revenue declined to $22.2 billion, from $22.5 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Advance Auto Parts AAP closed up 16.56 percent to $96.18 after the company announced plans to buy General Parts for $2.04 billion.

Shares of MGIC Investment MTG got a boost, closing up 14.74 percent to $8.33 after the company reported upbeat Q3 profit.

Veeva Systems VEEV also closed up, gaining 85.80 percent to $37.16 following a very successful IPO Wednesday morning.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Stanley Black & Decker SWK closed down 14.26 percent to $76.75 after the company reported a 44 percent rise in its third-quarter earnings and cut its outlook for the year.

Molycorp MCP shares closed down 1.61 percent to $5.49 after the company priced 45 million shares of common stock at $5.00 per share.

GenCorp GY also closed down, falling 8.66 percent to $15.19 after the company report its third quarter earnings on Tuesday.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.07 percent to $102.29, while gold traded down 0.63 percent to $1,281.00. Silver traded up 0.14 percent Wednesday to $21.17, while copper dipped 0.09 percent to $3.3.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.75 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 1.45 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.47 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.29 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.34 percent.

Economics
The MBA's index of mortgage application activity fell 0.30% for the week ended October 11, from a prior reading of 1.30%. The NAHB housing market index declined to 55 in October, versus 57 in September. However, economists were expecting a reading of 57.00. The Federal Reserve released its Beige Book at 2:00 p.m. ET.