Following the market opening Wednesday morning, the Dow traded
down 0.04 percent to 13,546.83 while the NASDAQ rose 0.24 percent
to 3,108.48. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.36 percent to
1,460.10.
As a heads up, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:
AEGR
) is halted for an FDA advisory panel today, where two of its
drugs will be discussed by the government panel.
The FDA panel discussed a drug released Isis Pharmaceuticals
(NASDAQ:
ISIS
) yesterday, and after announcing that it caused abnormal
growths, shares of the company dropped 20 percent in intraday
trading.
Top Headline:
In a major shift for Nike (NYSE:
NKE
) this morning, the company announced it would be dropping its
sponsorship of Lance Armstrong. Traditionally known for sticking
by its athletes through thick and thin, the company stated that
due to "seemingly insurmountable evidence of doping", that it
would be canceling its contract with the Tour de France
winner.
Equities Trading UP
Cymer (NASDAQ:
CYMI
) surged in early trading, rising 57.27 percent to $75.22 after
the company was purchased by chipmaker ASML (NASDAQ:
ASML
) for $2.5 Billion.
Cree (NASDAQ:
CREE
) was also up, rising 9.29 percent to $28.62 after a slight
earnings beat following the market closing Tuesday.
Shares PulteGroup (NYSE:
PHM
) were up as well, increasing 6.16 percent to $17.58 after some
encouraging data this morning on housing starts was released.
Equities Trading DOWN
Apollo Group (NASDAQ:
APOL
) plummeted 16.11 percent to $23.06 following downgrades at Bank
of America and Merrill Lynch linked to the announcement that it
would be closing 117 University of Phoenix locations.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:
FTNT
) took quite a hit as well, falling 18.55 percent to $20.20 after
a slew of analysts cut their price targets for the security
provider.
Check Point Software (NASDAQ:
CHKP
) was also among equities falling in early trading, declining
12.99 percent to $41.26.
Commodities
In commodity news, Oil traded up 0.31 percent to $92.37, while
Gold traded up 0.17 percent to $1,749.30.
Silver traded up 0.09 percent Wednesday Morning to $33.05.
Euro Zone
Early this morning, Spain avoided a downgrade by Moody's, leading
to a rally in European markets.
At 12:00PM ET, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is set to
hold a press conference, so watch for that to move markets if he
makes any mention on a bailout decision.
Economics
In positive economic news Wednesday morning, housing starts came
in at 11.6 percent, far above the expected 1.1 percent, and the
prior figure of -1.2 percent. Building permits also beat
expectations, coming in at 894 thousand, above the expected 770
thousand and the previous number of 750 thousand.
MBA mortgage applications were reported at -4.2 percent, below
the expected -1.4 percent and the prior figure of -1.2
percent.
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