Stocks Trend Higher and Midday Movers: AAPL, KUTV, YOKU, OREX, VVUS, SWN

Stocks continue to trend higher in midday trading thanks to better than expected consumer confidence data. The Consumer Confidence Index hit a reading of 70.8 this month, up from last month’s 61.5. Durable goods orders held the market back from bigger gains though as they fell 4% in January. This was due to a decline in business spending on heavy equipment. The Dow is up 22.59 points in midday trading, the Nasdaq is up 18.47 points and the S&P 500 is up 3.72 points.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up 1.24% in midday trading at $532.26. AAPL has traded nearly 11 million shares already today and trades 13.8 million shares a day on average. AAPL shares set a new record price today after the company confirmed it will unveil the next iPad at a March 7 event. The company has a market cap of 495.99 billion.

Ku6 Media Co., Ltd (NASDAQ:KUTV) is up 7.23% today at $1.9301. KUTV has traded 276 thousand shares so far today, well above its daily average of 360 thousand shares a day. Ku6 Media announced today they will report their fourth quarter earnings on March 8. The company has a market cap of 99.37 million.

Youku Inc. (NYSE:YOKU) is up 7.47% in midday trading at $24.80. YOKU has traded 2.9 million shares so far today, above its daily average of 2.3 million shares. Youku annnounced yesterday they will release fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 financial results on March 14. The company has a market cap of 2.84 billion.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX) is down 8.89% today at $3.79. OREX has traded 2.7 million shares so far today, nearly 3 times its daily average. OREX shares have jumped more than 100% this year as investors buy up obesity-drug makers. The company has a market cap of 183.68 million.

Vivus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) is down 6.94% today at $22.14. VVUS has traded 13 million shares so far today, 3 times its daily average. VVUS shares are dipping today as investors take profits from the stock’s recent run up. The company has a market cap of 1.97 billion.

Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) is down 4.77% today at $33.63. SWN is down on heavy volume today with 15.7 million shares traded so far. SWN shares fell today after earnings missed. The company posted fourth quarter earnings of $0.45 per share, less than analysts’ estimates of $0.52 per share. The company has a market cap of 11.65 billion.