Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Alibaba Revenue Misses Views

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 1.22 percent to 17,191.02 while the NASDAQ slipped 1.13 percent to 4,979.90. The S&P also fell, dropping 1.06 percent to 2,062.00.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares gained by 0.50 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included American Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: AMID), Edison International (NYSE: EIX), and Oneok Partners LP (NYSE: OKS).

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares dipped by 1.62 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included First Acceptance Corporation (NYSE: FAC), down 9 percent, and HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF), off 8 percent.

Top Headline

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE: BABA) reported downbeat revenue for its fiscal first quarter. However, the company’s earnings exceeded analysts’ estimates.

The Chinese e-commerce giant’s quarterly net income climbed 148 percent year-over-year to $4.97 billion, or $1.92 per share. Its adjusted earnings rose 21 percent to $0.59 per share.

Its revenue climbed 28 percent year-over-year to $3.265 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $3.39 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Wayfair Inc (NYSE: W) shares shot up 16 percent to $44.30 after the company reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter on Wednesday.

Fogo De Chao Inc (NASDAQ: FOGO) shares were also up, gaining 2 percent to $20.40 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter on Tuesday.

Shares of Enzymotec Ltd (NASDAQ: ENZY) got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $8.80 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results and raised its FY15 forecast.

Equities Trading DOWN

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) shares tumbled 14 percent to $12.52 after the company reported a wider-than-expected Q2 loss.

Shares of Phoenix New Media Ltd ADR (NYSE: FENG) were down 10 percent to $5.71. Phoenix New Media reported Q2 earnings of RMB$1.19 per share on sales of RMB$410.873 million.

INC Research Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: INCR) was down, falling 7 percent to $44.85 after the company priced its 8 million secondary offering.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.37 percent to $43.67, while gold traded up 0.89 percent to $1,117.60.

Silver traded up 0.76 percent Wednesday to $15.40, while copper rose 0.41 percent to $2.34.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 2.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 1.75 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 2.17 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 2.25 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 2.40 percent while UK shares fell 1.12 percent.

Economics

U.S. job openings slipped to 5.25 million in June, compared to 5.36 million in May.

The U.S. Treasury budget data for July will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.