Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Dow Chemical Posts Upbeat Profit

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.71 percent to 15,814.92 while the NASDAQ declined 0.52 percent to 4,076.50. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.62 percent to 1,781.36. Top Headline
Dow Chemical Co DOW posted a profit in the fourth quarter. Dow Chemical swung to a quarterly profit of $963 million, or $0.79 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $716 million, or $0.61 per share. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.65 per share. Its revenue surged to $14.39 billion from $13.92 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $14.14 billion. The company lifted its dividend by 15% and increased its stock buyback program to $4.5 billion. Equities Trading UP
Medivation MDVN shot up 12.67 percent to $85.38 after the company and Astellas reported final results from the Phase 3 PREVAIL trial of Enzalutamide. Credit Suisse lifted the price target on Medivation from $80.00 to $95.00. Shares of The Dow Chemical Company DOW got a boost, shooting up 5.76 percent to $45.54 after the company after the company posted an upbeat profit in the fourth quarter and lifted its dividend by 15%. RF Micro Devices RFMD was also up, gaining 7.16 percent to $5.24 after the company reported Q3 results. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of CommVault Systems CVLT were down 14.36 percent to $65.17 on Q3 results. Cirrus Logic CRUS shares tumbled 7.95 percent to $17.25 after the company issued downbeat Q4 revenue outlook. Yahoo! YHOO was down, falling 6.31 percent to $35.81 after the company reported a decline in its Q4 revenue and online ad prices. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.86 percent to $96.57, while gold traded up 1.22 percent to $1,265.80. Silver traded up 1.75 percent Wednesday to $19.85, while copper fell 0.34 percent to $3.24. Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.11 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 1.41 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 1.61 percent and the French CAC 40 slipped 1.66 percent while U.K. shares fell 1.19 percent. Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 0.20% in the week ended January 24. The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.