Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.01 percent to 16,917.66 while the NASDAQ declined 0.14 percent to 4,521.30. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.04 percent to 1,980.84.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials shares rose 0.26 percent in trading on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX), up 2.3 percent, and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI), up 2.1 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.39 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL), down 3.5 percent, and SunCoke Energy (NYSE: SXC), off 3.3 percent.

Top Headline

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) reported upbeat results for the second quarter.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company posted quarterly earnings of $5.81 million, or $0.03 per share, compared to $19.59 million, or $0.10 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Its revenue fell to $710.6 million from $727.3 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.00 per share on revenue of $690 million. American Eagle’s same-store sales dropped 7%.

Equities Trading UP

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) shares shot up 8.15 percent to $12.53 after the company reported upbeat results for the second quarter.
Shares of Zhaopin (NYSE: ZPIN) got a boost, shooting up 6.05 percent to $14.91 on Q4 results.

PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) shares were also up, gaining 1.05 percent to $70.43 after it confirmed a report earlier that it will explore a possible sale of the company. The company also reported upbeat earnings for the second quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) were down 12.58 percent to $27.59 after the company withdrew its financial forecast for 2014 due to ongoing audit cost.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) shares tumbled 2.02 percent to $50.48 after the company cut its sales growth forecast for fiscal 2014. However, the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
JA Solar Holdings Co (NASDAQ: JASO) was down, falling 2.90 percent to $9.70 after the company reporteddownbeat second-quarter profit.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.88 percent to $95.31, while gold traded down 0.02 percent to $1,296.40.

Silver traded up 0.48 percent Wednesday to $19.57, while copper rose 0.87 percent to $3.15.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.29 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.32 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 0.76 percent and the French CAC 40 dipped 0.73 percent while UK shares slipped 0.45 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity gained 1.40% in the week ended August 15.

The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET.