Courtesy of Benzinga.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.23 percent to 17,073.50 while the NASDAQ surged 0.22 percent to 4,465.77. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 1,984.47.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY), up 16.7 percent, and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG), up 13.3 percent.
Industrials shares fell by 0.21 percent in today’s trading. Top losers in the sector included TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL), down 5.3 percent, and Knightsbridge Tankers (NASDAQ: VLCCF), off 4.5 percent.
Top Headline
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year earnings outlook.
The Purchase, New York-based company posted a quarterly profit of $1.978 billion, or $1.29 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $2.010 billion, or $1.28 per share. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.32 per share.
Its revenue gained 0.5% to $16.894 billion, while organic revenue rose 3.6%. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.23 per share on revenue of $16.8 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Puma Biotechnology (NYSE: PBYI) shares shot up 284.96 percent to $227.24 after the company released positive top line results from its Phase 3 PB272 trial in initial treatment for breast cancer.
Shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) got a boost, shooting up 12.99 percent to $443.11 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings. Analysts at Raymond James upgraded Intuitive Surgical from Market Perform to Outperform.
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) shares were also up, gaining 12.08 percent to $340.34 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results and lifted its FY14 forecast.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) were down 17.72 percent to $39.62 after the company reported downbeat Q1 revenue and issued a weak Q2 revenue forecast. BMO Capital downgraded Xilinx from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $60.00 to $42.00.
CONMED (NASDAQ: CNMD) shares tumbled 13.11 percent to $37.12 after the company reported that its board has ended the review of strategic alternatives. The company reported downbeat Q2 results and lowered its full-year outlook. The company’s CEO Joe Corasanti announced that he will be stepping down with former Stryker interim CEO and CFO, Curt Hartman, taking over his position.
Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) was down, falling 10.84 percent to $22.13 after the company issued a downbeat Q3 forecast. Bank of America downgraded Juniper Networks from Outperform to Neutral and lowered the price target from $34.00 to $28.00.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.26 percent to $102.66, while gold traded up 0.15 percent to $1,310.00.
Silver traded up 0.06 percent Wednesday to $21.02, while copper fell 0.12 percent to $3.20.
Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 jumped 0.14 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.26 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.15 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.26 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.29 percent while UK shares rose 0.05 percent.
Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity rose 2.40% in the week ended July 18.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Emerging Markets Downgrades Eurozone Futures Price Target
