Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NASDAQ Down 1%; NutriSystem Shares Gain Following Earnings Beat

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.76 percent to 17,615.84 while the NASDAQ declined 1.01 percent to 4,715.31. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.82 percent to 2,046.46.

On Wednesday, the utilities sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Wednesday, basic materials shares fell by 2.2 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 31 percent, and

, down 11 percent.

reported better-than-expected Q1 results, but issued a weak profit forecast for the second quarter. For the latest quarter, Priceline posted quarterly earnings of $374.4 million, or $7.47 per share, compared to $333.3 million, or $6.36 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $10.54 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $9.66 per share. Its revenue rose to $2.15 billion from $1.84 billion, versus analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion. For the second quarter, the company projects earnings of $11.60 to $12.50 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $14.96 per share.

shares shot up 23 percent to $24.51 as the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its revenue forecast for FY16. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 15 percent to $26.19 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued a strong outlook.

shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $44.28 after the company reported upbeat Q4 results.

shares dropped 31 percent to $12.69 as the company reported downbeat Q1 results. Shares of

were down 19 percent to $31.50. Cray reported upbeat Q1 results, but issued a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter. Needham downgraded Cray from Buy to Hold.

was down, falling around 16 percent to $2.25 as the company issued weak forecast for the full year and announced plans to reduce its workforce by around 85.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.53 percent to $43.42 while gold traded down 1.26 percent to $1,275.50. Silver traded down 1.11 percent Wednesday to $17.31, while copper fell 1.62 percent to $2.18.

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 1.12 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.26 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 0.17 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.99 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 1.09 percent while U.K. shares fell 1.19 percent.

Private-sector employers added 156,000 jobs in April, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported. However, economists were expecting a gain of 196,000 jobs. The U.S. trade deficit declined around 17 percent to $40.4 billion in March. U.S. exports dropped 2.2 percent to $176.6 billion in March, while imports slipped 4.9 percent to $217.1 billion in the same month. U.S. productivity declined at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter, while unit-labor costs rose 4.1 percent in the quarter. The Markit services PMI slipped to 37.40 in April, versus a prior reading of 38.60. U.S. factory orders rose 1.10 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.60 percent growth. The ISM non-manufacturing index gained to 55.70 in April, versus a previous reading of 54.50. However, economists were projecting a reading of 54.70.