Markets Open Higher, Bank Of America Posts Upbeat Profit

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.18 percent to 15,480.24 while the NASDAQ surged 0.27 percent to 3,608.39. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.34 percent to 1,681.96.

Top Headline
Bank of America (BAC) reported a rise in its second-quarter profit.

Bank of America's quarterly profit surged to $4.01 billion, or $0.32 per share, versus $2.46 billion, or $0.19 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Its total revenue rose to $22.9 billion from $22.2 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.25 per share on revenue of $22.78 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Energy XXI (Bermuda) (EXXI) shot up 13.65 percent to $27.72 after the company reported a 50% rise in its 2013 proved reserves.

Shares of iGATE (IGTE) got a boost, shooting up 9.05 percent to $19.36 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results.

Bank of America (BAC) was also up, gaining 1.33 percent to $14.11 after the company reported higher Q2 profit.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Mattel (MAT) were down 7.14 percent to $43.02 after the company reported a 24% drop in its second-quarter earnings.

American Express Company (AXP) was down, falling 3.51 percent to $75.53 after Buckingham downgraded the stock from “buy” to “neutral.” The company is also expected to post its Q2 earnings after the closing bell.

Superior Energy Services (SPN) shares tumbled 4.11 percent to $25.90 after the company issued downbeat Q2 earnings forecast.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.06 percent to $105.94, while gold traded up 0.36 percent to $1,296.70.

Silver traded up 0.45 percent Wednesday to $20.03, while copper fell 0.71 percent to $3.16.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The number of people claiming unemployment in the U.K. in June fell much faster than expected, new data revealed. The British Claimant Count fell 21.2 thousand vs. the expected drop of 8 thousand while May's figure was revised lower to show a drop of 16.2 thousand from the previous estimate of 8.2 thousand.

The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.51 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 1.45 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.71 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.51 percent while U.K. shares surged 0.54 percent.

Economics
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its index of mortgage application activity dropped 2.6% in the recent week ended July 12.

Construction on new homes declined 9.9% to an annual rate of 836,000 in June. However, economists were expecting an annual rate of 950,000 in June.

The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

BY Jake L'Ecuyer