Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.14 percent to 19,642.25 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.52 percent to
5,445.29. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.28 percent to 2,252.48.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Friday morning, healthcare shares gained by 1.11 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Emergent Biosolutions
Inc (NYSE: EBS), and Sangamo Biosciences, Inc.
(NASDAQ: SGMO).
In trading on Friday, basic materials shares fell by 0.33 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Harmony Gold
Mining Co. (ADR) (NYSE: HMY), down 4 percent, and Gerdau
SA (ADR) (NYSE: GGB), down 3 percent.
Top Headline
Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) reported upbeat
results for its second quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter on Thursday.
Finisar posted adjusted earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $369.9 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.46 per
share on revenue of $361 million.
Equities Trading UP
China Customer Relations Centers Inc (NASDAQ: CCRC) shares shot up 25 percent to $21.71 after the company reported unaudited
financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2016. EPS rose 150.2 percent year-over-year to $0.28, while revenue gained 34.3
percent to $34.5 million.
Shares of Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) got a
boost, shooting up 19 percent to $17.44 after Sibanye Gold Ltd (ADR) (NYSE: SBGL) announced plans to acquire Stillwater for $18.00 per share in cash.
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP) shares were
also up, gaining 7 percent to $7.20 after the company reported upbeat results for its fiscal first quarter.
Equities Trading DOWN
Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCON)
shares dropped 30 percent to $1.42 after the company reported an offering of $10.2 million.
Shares of Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ: CLSD)
were down 22 percent to $8.97. Clearside Biomedical priced an underwritten public offering of 4,000,000 shares at $9.00 per
share.
Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE: RH) was down,
falling around 18 percent to $32.08. Restoration Hardware reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but issued
a weak outlook for the holiday quarter.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.06 percent to $51.38 while gold traded down 0.27 percent to $1,169.20.
Silver traded up 0.11 percent Friday to $17.12, while copper rose 0.88 percent to $2.65.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.60 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.04
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.22 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.07 percent, and the French CAC 40
gained 0.45 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.24 percent.
Economics
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 98.00 in December, versus a prior reading of 93.80. Economists
were expecting a reading of 94.50.
U.S. wholesale inventories declined 0.40 percent for October, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.40 percent drop.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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