Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Higher; Express Issues Downbeat Earnings Outlook

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.08 percent to 15,926.56 while the NASDAQ surged 0.06 percent to 4,039.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.08 percent to 1,796.61.

Express

issued a

for the holiday quarter. Express now projects a Q4 profit of $0.66 to $0.71 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.78 per share. Express reported its Q3 net income of $19.3 million, or $0.23 per share, up from $17.4 million, or $0.20 per share, in the year-ago period. However, analysts expected a profit of $0.25 per share. Its sales climbed 7% to $503 million, while same-store sales gained 5% in the period.

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals

shot up 10.83 percent to $30.70 after the company initiated Phase 1B trial of WNT-parthway-target antibody. Jefferies lifted the price target on the stock from $27 to $46. Shares of G-III Apparel Group

got a boost, shooting up 9.95 percent to $64.09 after the company reported upbeat Q3 results and raised its FY14 forecast. Gran Tierra Energy

was also up, gaining 2.56 percent to $7.20 after the company provided updates for its operations in Colombia.

Shares of Express

were down 18.89 percent to $20.01 after the company reported downbeat Q3 earnings and issued a weak Q4 earnings forecast. OmniVision Technologies

shares tumbled 6.74 percent to $14.91 after the company

third-quarter forecast. Sears Holdings

was down, falling 9.36 percent to $50.35 after the company's CEO Edward Lampert cut his stake in the company to 48.4% from 55.4%.

In commodity news,

to $96.90, while gold traded up 0.46 percent to $1,226.40. Silver traded up 1.26 percent Wednesday to $19.31, while copper rose 1.29 percent to $3.21.

European shares

today. The Spanish Ibex Index tumbled 0.70 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 0.85 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.21 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.90 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.61 percent.

The MBA's index of mortgage application activity dropped 12.80% in the week ended November 29. Private-sector employers added 215,000 jobs in November, according to Automatic Data Processing. However, economists were expecting an addition of 170,000 jobs in the month. US trade deficit dropped 5.4% to $40.6 billion in October. However, economists were expecting the deficit to decline to $40.0 billion in the month. The nation's exports increased 1.8% to $192.7 billion, while imports rose 0.4% to $233.3 billion. The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 53.90 in November, versus a prior reading of 55.40. However, economists were expecting a reading of 55.00. Sales of new US homes surged 25.4% to an annual rate of 444,000 in October, versus 354,000 in September. However, economists were expecting sales to total 419,000 in October. The Fed will release its Beige Book at 2:00 p.m. ET.