Mid-Day Market Update: Box Surges Following Announcement Of Partnership With IBM On Cloud; Sunedison Semiconductor Shares Fall

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.33 percent to 18,085.05 while the NASDAQ fell 0.18 percent to 5,150.63. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23 percent to 2,119.33.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares rose by 0.20 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Goodrich Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: GDP), up 7 percent, and Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ: SZYM), up 4 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, telecommunications services shares slipped by 0.53 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) (NYSE: NQ), down 2 percent, and Centurylink Inc (NYSE: CTL), off 2 percent.

Top Headline
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter.
The Miami, Florida-based company reported quarterly net income of $183 million, or $0.79 per share, compared to $137.7 million, or $0.61 per share, in the year-ago period.
Its total revenue climbed 31.5 percent to $2.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.02 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Box Inc (NYSE: BOX) shares shot up 7 percent to $18.76 following announcement of partnership with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) on cloud.
Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) got a boost, shooting up 8 percent to $13.60. Nektar Therapeutics will replace Casey's General Stores Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on June 25.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CPRX) shares were also up, gaining 7 percent to $4.27 after the company reported encouraging top-line results in proof-of-concept trial of vigabatrin in patients with Treatment-Refractory Tourette's Disorder. MLV & Co. initiated coverage on Catalyst Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating and a $14.00 price target.

Equities Trading DOWN
Inphi Corporation (NYSE: IPHI) shares tumbled 6 percent to $24.54. Northland Securities downgraded Inphi from Outperform to Market Perform.
Shares of Sunedison Semiconductor Ltd (NASDAQ: SEMI) were down 6 percent to $19.81 after the company reported an offering of 15.94 million common shares by selling stockholders.
Ets Delhaize Freres et cie le Lion SA (NYSE: DEG) was down, falling 7 percent to $22.72 after Royal Ahold NV agreed to merge with Delhaize Group.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.15 percent to $60.31, while gold traded down 0.39 percent to $1,172.00.
Silver traded up 0.37 percent Wednesday to $15.83, while copper fell 0.25 percent to $2.61.

Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.38 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.71 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.53 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.58 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.12 percent while UK shares gained 0.21 percent.

Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity rose 1.60 percent in the week ended June 19, 2015.
The U.S. economy shrank by an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent decline.
Crude supplies slipped 4.9 million barrels for the week ended June 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 2.3 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased 1.8 million barrels last week.