Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Rises 0.5%; Argos Therapeutics Shares Drop

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.51 percent to 18,144.84 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.39 percent to 4,959.73. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.32 percent to 2,107.55. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Wednesday, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Dominion Diamond Corp DDC and Vale SA (ADR) VALE. In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 1.45 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included NorthWestern Corp NWE, down 4 percent, and NiSource Inc. NI, down 3 percent. Top Headline The Coca-Cola Co KO reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday. Coke posted a quarterly profit of $1.48 billion, or $0.34 per share, compared to $1.56 billion, or $0.35 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company's earnings came in at $0.45 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.44 per share. Its revenue declined 4 percent to $10.28 billion, versus analysts' expectations of $10.28 billion. Equities Trading UP Hansen Medical, Inc. HNSN shares shot up 41 percent to $4.03 after the company agreed to be acquired by Auris Surgical. Shares of VMware, Inc. VMW got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $58.72 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings. The company's board of directors also authorized a $1.2 billion share buyback program. OncoSec Medical Inc ONCS shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $2.67. OncoSec presented positive melanoma clinical data at the AACR Annual Meeting 2016. Equities Trading DOWN CalAmp Corp. CAMP shares dropped 10 percent to $15.64. CalAmp reported in-line Q4 earnings, but the company issued a weak forecast for the full year. Shares of Flexsteel Industries, Inc. FLXS were down 12 percent to $37.75. Flexsteel Industries reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $125.4 million Argos Therapeutics Inc ARGS was down, falling around 22 percent to $8.36. Argos Therapeutics reported plans to reduce workforce by 13 percent and announced the resignation of its COO Fred Miesowicz. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 4.04 percent to $42.74 while gold traded down 0.33 percent to $1,250.10. Silver traded up 0.70 percent Wednesday to $17.09, while copper rose 0.58 percent to $2.24. Eurozone European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.43 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.96 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 1.14 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.69 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.56 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.08 percent. Economics Existing home sales increased 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.33 million in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, economists were expecting a 5.3 million rate. Crude oil supplies rose 2.1 million barrels for the week ended April 15, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline supplies dropped 100,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 3.6 million barrels last week.