Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.18 percent to 16,949.49 while the NASDAQ gained 0.03 percent to 4,528.63. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.10 percent to 1,983.63.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials shares rose 0.43 percent in trading on Wednesday. Top gainers in the sector included Seabridge Gold (NYSE: SA), up 6.3 percent, and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI), up 3.8 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included JA Solar Holdings Co (NASDAQ: JASO), down 5.5 percent, and SandRidge Permian Trust (NYSE: PER), off 6.2 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 9.92 percent to $12.74 after the company reported upbeat results for the second quarter.

Shares of Zhaopin (NYSE: ZPIN) got a boost, shooting up 3.77 percent to $14.59 on Q4 results.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN) shares were also up, gaining 10.41 percent to $95.98 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) were down 9.71 percent to $28.50 after the company withdrew its financial forecast for 2014 due to ongoing audit cost.

Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) shares tumbled 8.97 percent to $19.59 following Q2 top and bottom line misses from Tuesday afternoon.

JA Solar Holdings Co (NASDAQ: JASO) was down, falling 4.81 percent to $9.51 after the company reported downbeat second-quarter profit.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.75 percent to $95.19, while gold traded down 0.16 percent to $1,294.60.

Silver traded up 0.38 percent Wednesday to $19.55, while copper rose 2.34 percent to $3.19.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.33 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.20 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 0.21 percent and the French CAC 40 dipped 0.32 percent while UK shares slipped 0.35 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.