The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined to 13,027.49 on Wednesday still above its 50-day simple moving average at 13,002. The NASDAQ’s declined to 3023.91 then rebounded to 3045.04 then consolidated staying above its 50-day simple moving average at 3005.

Asian stocks were higher on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 ended their session at 9,667 – up 2.14% on the day. The Hang Seng ended their session at 20,781 – down 1.06% on the day. European stocks traded lower on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 ended their session at 5,745 – down 0.38% on the day. The DAX ended their session at 6,732 – down 1.01% on the day. The CAC 40 ended their session at 3,240 – down 1.59% on the day. The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined from 2.017 percent to 1.968 below its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages at 2.084 and 2.121.

Gold declined from $1655.2 the Troy ounce to $1638.1 staying below the “death cross” defined by the 50-day simple moving average at $1690.9 being below the 200-day simple moving averages at $1694.2. Crude oil declined from $104.51 per barrel to $102.19, staying below its 50-day simple moving average at $104.64. The euro versus the dollar traded down from 1.3139 to 1.3061 below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3205.

Energy

Halliburton (HAL) beat Q1 EPS by three cents with in-line revenue. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch initiated Buy ratings on Peabody Energy (BTU), Walter Energy (WLT), and Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), and initiates Underperform ratings on Arch Coal (ACI) and Consol Energy (CNX). Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) is initiated with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. CNOOC Ltd (CEO), China’s state oil giant has been upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies. First Solar (FSLR) has been upgraded to Hold from Sell at Cantor Fitzgerald with a price target at $21.50. First Solar (FSLR) has also been downgraded to Sell from Hold with Wunderlich, whose target is taken down to $14 from $38. Mid-Con Energy Partners (MCEP) have been upgraded to Outperform from Neutral with a $24 price target at Robert W. Baird. Patriot Coal (PCX) has been upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. Dow components – Chevron (CVX) rose by 0.2% Wednesday morning with Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 0.5%.

Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $69.31 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.06% on the day – up 0.26% year-to-date.

Materials

With gold trading under a 50-day / 200-day “death cross” after having a positive moving average configuration since February 13, 2009, gold shares slipped on Wednesday; Barrick Gold (ABX) was down 0.6% in morning trading with Newmont Mining (NEM) down 1.1%. Dow components – Alcoa (AA) continues to have problems trending above the $10 threshold slipping 0.3%. DuPont (DD) was up 0.3% ahead of Thursday’s earnings report.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $36.66 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.19% on the day – up 9.43% year-to-date.

Industrials

Dover (DOV) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents with in-line revenue. Textron (TXT) beat Q1 EPS estimates by six cents and also beat on the revenue line. Packaging of America (PKG) beat Q1 EPS estimates by two cents and also beat on the revenue line. United Rentals (URI) beat Q1 EPS estimates, swinging to a profit as rental volumes and rates continue to improve despite a weak construction market. CSX (CSX) beat Q1 EPS estimates by a nickel and also beat on the revenue line. Acuity Brands (AYI), the lighting company is initiated with an Overweight rating at Piper Jaffray. C.H. Robinson (CHRW) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank with a $79 price target. Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) has been downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at JPMorgan. Toll Brothers (TOL) and Lennar (LEN) have been downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna. Dow components – Boeing Co (BA) lost 0.2%, Caterpillar (CAT) was up 0.7%, General Electric (GE) lost 1.0%, 3M Company (MMM) was lower by 0.2%, and United Technologies (UTX) slipped 0.2% in morning trading.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $36.92 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.30% on the day – up 9.39% year-to-date.

Consumer Discretionary

Amazon (AMZN) has acquired the exclusive North American rights to publish the James Bond spy titles in both print and digital form. Polaris Industries (PII) beat Q1 EPS estimates by eight cents and also beat on the revenue line. McDonald’s (MCD) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Edward Jones. CTC Media (CTCM) has been downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Dow Components – Disney (DIS) lost 0.4%, and McDonalds (MCD) picked up 0.5%.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $45.00 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, up 0.26% on the day – up 15.33% year-to-date.

Consumer Staples

Carlsberg (CABGY), the Danish brewer has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Danone (DANOY), the French yogurt firm has been upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. Deckers Outdoor (DECK), the maker of Uggs has been upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Sterne Agee. Dow components – Home Depot (HD) lost 0.7%, Kraft (KFT) slipped 0.4%, Coca Cola (KO) was flat, Procter & Gamble (PG) was also flat, and Wal-Mart (WMT) gained just 0.1% in morning trading.

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $34.12 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, up 0.16% on the day – up 5.02% year-to-date.

Health Care

Pfizer (PFE) is reportedly closing in on a deal to sell its infant nutrition business to Nestle (NSRGY.PK) for at least $9 billion, which was the winning bid. SXC Health (SXCI) will buy Catalyst Health (CHSI) for about $4.4 billion in cash and stock. The $81.02 share price represents a premium of roughly 28% to CHSI Tuesday closing price. Illumina (ILMN) at its annual meeting today will attempt to fend off Roche’s (RHHBY.PK) $6.7 billion offer for the company. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents and also beat on the revenue line. St. Jude Medical (STJ) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents with in-line revenue. Quest Diagnostics (DGX) beat Q1 EPS estimates by six cents and also beat on the revenue line. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) beat Q1 EPS estimates by 35 cents with a beat on the revenue line. Dow Components – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) lost 1.4%, Merck (MRK) slipped by just 0.1%, and Pfizer (PFE) gained 1.1% in morning trading.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $37.08 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.13% on the day – up 6.89% year-to-date.

Financials

New York Community Bancorp (NYB) beat Q1 EPS estimates by a penny. Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC) reported Q1 EPS of $0.33 with a slight beat on the revenue line. Southwest Bancorp (OKSB) reported Q1 EPS of $0.21, which may not be comparable to consensus calling for a loss of $0.01. Bank of New York Mellon (BK) reported Q1 EPS that was in-line. with estimates on both the top and bottom line. PNC Financial Services (PNC) reported Q1 EPS of $1.44 with a beat on the revenue line. Virginia Commerce Bancorp (VCBI) missed Q1 EPS estimates by three cents. Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) beat Q1 EPS estimates by three cents. American International Group (AIG) has been upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair. Comerica (CMA) has been downgraded to Market Perform fro Outperform at BMO Capital. Dow Components – American Express (AXP) gained 0.3%, Bank of America (BAC) gained just 0.2%, JP Morgan (JPM) fell by 0.7%, and Travelers (TRV) was down 0.6% in morning trading.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $15.34 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.65% on the day – up 18.00% year-to-date.

Information Technology

IBM’s (IBM) reported a Q1 EPS beat of 37 cents but missed on the revenue line and shares were down 1.9% in pre-market trading. International Business Machines (IBM) has been downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie after last night’s earnings announcement. Intel (INTC) beat expectations in Q1 as EPS fell to $0.53 from $0.56 a year earlier. INTC revenue was flat and shares slipped in pre-market trading. Yahoo (YHOO) shares were up 3.4% premarket after its Q1 results topped forecasts as EPS rose to 24 cents per share from 17 cents. Yahoo’s display and search ad revenues continuing to decline however. Yahoo (YHOO) have been downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest. Google (GOOG) plans to divest Motorola’s (MMI) set-top box business and promises to keep Motorola’s phone business at arm’s length. Apple’s (AAPL) and Samsung’s (SSNLF.PK) CEOs will participate in a patent settlement conference overseen by a U.S. Magistrate Judge. Amazon (AMZN) has acquired the exclusive North American rights to publish the James Bond spy titles in both print and digital form. Cree Inc (CREE) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy at ThinkEquity. Dow Components – Cisco Systems (CSCO) lost 0.8%, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) was up 0.6%, IBM (IBM) slumped 2.8%, Intel Corp (INTC) fell by 2.0%, and Microsoft (MSFT) lost 1.0% in morning trading.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $29.73 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.70% on the day – up 16.82% year-to-date.

Telecommunication Services

Telecom Argentina (TEO) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche. Clearwire Corp (CLWR) fell by 12.2%. Dow components – AT&T (T) lost 0.6% while Verizon (VZ) slipped 0.3%.

The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $210.90 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.50% on the day – up 7.09% year-to-date.

Utilities

Telecom Argentina (TEO) has been upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche. Dominion Resources (D) lost 0.5%, Edison International (EIX) fell 0.6%, First Energy (FE) slipped by 0.2%, and PG&E Corp (PCG) was flat in morning trading.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $34.78 at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, down 0.14% on the day – down 3.34% year-to-date.

STOCKS: CVX, XOM, HAL, BTU, WLT, ANR, ACI, CNX, ETP, CEO, FSLR, MCEP, PCX, AA, DD, ABX, NEM, BA, CAT, GE, MMM, UTX, DOV, TXT, PKG, URI, CSX, AYI, CHRW, DNB, TOL, LEN, DIS, MCD, AMZN, PII, CTCM, HD, KFT, KO, PG, WMT, CABGY, DANOY, DECK, JNJ, MRK, PFE, NSRGY.PK, CHSI, ILMN, RHHBY.PK, ABT, STJ, DGX, ISRG, AXP, BAC, JPM, TRV, NYB, PJC, OKSB, BK, PNC, VCBI, HBAN, AIG, CMA, CSCO, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, YHOO, GOOG, MMI, AAPL, SSNLF.PK, AMZN, CREE, T, VZ, TEO, CLWR, D, EIX, FE, PCG, PGN