US stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)`s bullish results, though Boeing weighed on the Dow and conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip kept the broader market`s gains in check. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock performance was 2.61% in last session and finished the day at $97.19. Traded volume was 92.92million shares in the last session and the average volume of the stock remained 64.38million shares. The beta of the stock remained 0.94. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) insider ownership is 0.04%.

Kirby McInerney LLP is investigating potential claims against Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE:LO) concerning the proposed acquisition of the Company by Reynolds American, Inc. (“Reynolds”) (NYSE: RAI). Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Lorillard stockholders will receive $50.50 in cash and 0.2909 shares of Reynolds common stock for each share of Lorillard common stock they own, valuing the deal at approximately $27 billion. Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) dropped -0.93 percent to $60.48 Wednesday on volume of 6.08million shares. The intra-day range of the stock was $60.47 to $61.24. Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) has a market capitalization of $21.93billion.

ION Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) in conjunction with North Africa Geophysical Exploration Co., has signed an agreement with the National Oil Corp., the national oil company of Libya, to acquire 21,000 km (13,049 mi) of 2D seismic data. Known as LibyaSPAN, the 2D multi-client survey will be acquired in phases. Phase 1 is planned to cover 7,700 km (4,785 mi) of new high-end, long-offset seismic data covering the entire Libyan offshore. Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO)’s stock on July 23, 2014 reported a increase of 0.74% to the closing price of $4.07. Its fifty two weeks range is $2.81 -$6.58. The total market capitalization recorded $667.70million. The overall volume in the last trading session was 546,902.00million shares. In its share capital, IO has 164.05million outstanding shares.

BHP Billiton plc (ADR) (NYSE:BBL) and Anglo American are looking to sell their jointly owned manganese assets portfolio in South Africa and Australia, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. On Wednesday, shares of BHP Billiton plc (ADR) (NYSE:BBL) advanced 0.01% to close the day at $70.17. Company return on investment (ROI) is 13.60% and its monthly performance is recorded as 6.22%. BHP Billiton plc (ADR) (NYSE:BBL) quarterly revenue growth is 8.67%.

HFF, Inc. (NYSE:HF) announced on 17 July 2014 that it will release its second quarter 2014 financial results after the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, July 31st. Management will host a conference call to discuss results at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time that same day (Thursday, July 31, 2014). HFF, Inc. (NYSE:HF) stock performance was -1.17% in last session and finished the day at $34.50. Traded volume was 96,317.00million shares in the last session and the average volume of the stock remained 196.24K shares. The beta of the stock remained 2.17. HFF, Inc. (NYSE:HF) insider ownership is 4.40%.