Courtesy of Benzinga.
Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 17,099.12 while the NASDAQ declined 0.14 percent to 4,564.08. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.07 percent to 1,998.70.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Telecommunications services shares rose by 0.64 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Internet Gold Golden Lines (NASDAQ: IGLD), up 6.9 percent, and TIM Participacoes SA (NYSE: TSU), up 5.9 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.09 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE), down 9.2 percent, and Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM), off 3.3 percent.
Top Headline
Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter and raised its FY14 forecast.
The based company posted quarterly net earnings of $124 million, or $0.96 per share, up from $107 million, or $0.83 per share, in the year-ago period.
Its sales surged to $992.9 million versus $925.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.85 per share on revenue of $987.86 million.
Equities Trading UP
Express (NYSE: EXPR) shares shot up 13.64 percent to $16.58 after the company reported stronger-than-expected second quarter results and raised its FY earnings forecast.
Shares of Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) got a boost, shooting up 7.11 percent to $21.68 on stronger-than-expected quarterly results. UBS upgraded Aruba from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $21.00 to $25.00.
The Michaels Companies (NASDAQ: MIK) shares were also up, gaining 7.93 percent to $16.34 after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter results.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding (NASDAQ: SWHC) were down 12.14 percent to $11.51 after the company lowered its full-year guidance. However, the company reported in-line earnings for the fiscal first quarter.
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE) shares tumbled 7.87 percent to $3.28 after the company reported downbeat profit for the second quarter.
Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) was down, falling 5.06 percent to $15.21 after the company reported downbeat fiscal second-quarter profit.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.21 percent to $94.06, while gold traded down 0.05 percent to $1,284.50.
Silver traded down 0.15 percent Wednesday to $19.43, while copper fell 0.65 percent to $3.19.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.19 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.26 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.40 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.05 percent and the French CAC 40 surged 0.16 percent while UK shares dropped 0.02 percent.
Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity gained 2.80% in the week ended August 22.
The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Commodities Markets
