Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.18 percent to 20,691.64 while the NASDAQ fell 0.07 percent to
5,910.27. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.07 percent to 2,366.52.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Friday morning, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services sector proved to be a source of strength for the market.
In trading on Friday, basic materials shares fell 0.44 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Century Aluminum
Co (NASDAQ: CENX), down 3 percent, and Companhia
Siderurgica Nacional (ADR) (NYSE: SID), down 3 percent.
Top Headline
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ: BBRY) reported
stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Friday.
BlackBerry reported a $0.04 per share profit in the fourth quarter, marking an improvement from a $0.03 per share loss a year
ago. Revenue for the quarter was $297 million (GAAP revenue of $286 million), of which 80 percent of sales came from Software &
Services segment revenue. Analysts were expecting earnings at $0.00 per share on revenue of $289.3 million.
Looking forward to fiscal 2018, BlackBerry expects to grow its business at or above the overall market in the software business.
The company expects to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis and to generate positive free cash flow for the full fiscal year.
Equities Trading UP
Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ: AKTX) shares
shot up 24 percent to $8.63 after the company disclosed that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for Coversin.
Shares of Sorl Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) got
a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $3.92. SORL Auto Parts reported Q4 earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $82.9 million.
FMC Corp (NYSE: FMC) shares were also up, gaining 16
percent to $71.17. DuPont reported a deal with FMC to divest a portion of the company’s Crop Protection Nutrition Unit for $1.6
billion.
Equities Trading DOWN
DarioHealth Corp (NASDAQ: DRIO) shares dropped 23
percent to $3.02 after the company reported a shelf offering of common stock.
Shares of Bioline RX Ltd (NASDAQ: BLRX) were down
around 24 percent to $0.875. BioLineRx reported an underwritten public offering of American Depositary Shares.
Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: PTI) was
down, falling around 15 percent to $9.28. Proteostasis Therapeutics reported a Q4 loss of $0.38 per share on revenue of $4.06
million.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.34 percent to $50.18 while gold traded down 0.01 percent to $1,248.00.
Silver traded up 0.10 percent Friday to $18.23, while copper fell 1.10 percent to $2.64.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.16 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.22
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.16 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.06 percent, and the French CAC 40
slipped 0.09 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.41 percent.
Economics
Personal income rose 0.4 percent in February, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4 percent growth. Consumer spending gained
0.1 percent for February, versus estimates for a 0.2 percent growth
The Chicago PMI increased to 57.7 in March, versus 57.4 in February. Economists projected a reading of 56.9.
The final reading of University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to 96.90 in March, versus a prior reading of
97.60. Economists were expecting a reading of 97.60.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Minneapolis, Minn. at 10:00 a.m. ET.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
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