Standard & Poor's said Thursday it will add miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. to its S&P 100 index to replace Schering-Plough Corp., after the drugmaker merges with Merck & Co. in a deal expected to be completed soon.

Stocks finished lower after well-known banking analyst Dick Bove downgraded his rating on Wells Fargo.

Stocks advanced Wednesday as investors were encouraged by a few earnings reports, including Morgan Stanley, Yahoo and SanDisk. The VIX, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, dropped to just above 20.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold said Wednesday that third-quarter profit soared, trouncing Wall Street expectations as the mining company benefited from higher metal prices and cost savings.

Stocks opened lower Wednesday as a raft of companies beating earning estimates but failed to impress investors.

Earnings season continues in earnest Wednesday, as we roll on with a week that will ultimately see 25 percent of the S&P 500 report their quarterly numbers. 

There are signs the nation's factories are stirring from one of the worst recessions in decades.  If nothing else, hints of a rebound at big industrial firms will boost the stock market and lift people's 401ks.

Slow economic growth coupled with a meteoric stocks rally that will be difficult to sustain is making for a challenging second half for investors.

After months of wondering whether the recovery is for real, investors may get the chance to find out when second-quarter earnings start rolling in.

Charl Malan, Senior Metals & Mining Analyst on the Van Eck Global Hard Assets fund which is rated 5-stars by Morningstar and up 24.96% this year, said now is a good time to invest in commodities because of “unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus in the United States, China and Europe.”