Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.13 percent to 21,871.23 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.65 percent to 6,257.55.
The S&P also rose, gaining 0.20 percent to 2,443.17.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Friday afternoon, the technology shares rose by 0.89 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Electronics For
Imaging, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFII), up 8 percent, and
MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ: MMYT), up 6 percent.
In trading on Friday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.64 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in
the sector included RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: RGCO), down 5 percent, and American States Water Co (NYSE: AWR), down 4 percent.
Top Headline
J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP) posted a
wider-than-expected Q2 loss.
J C Penney posted adjusted loss of $0.09 per share on revenue of $2.96 billion. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.05
per share on revenue of $2.84 billion.
Sales at stores open more than 12 months dropped 1.3 percent during the quarter.
Equities Trading UP
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) shares shot up 49
percent to $3.06. DryShips reported that it will conduct a $100 million private placement and announced termination of stock
purchase deal with Kalani.
Shares of Chiasma Inc (NASDAQ: CHMA) got a boost,
shooting up 26 percent to $1.83 as the company disclosed that it reached an agreement with the FDA under Special Protocol
Assessment for a new Phase 3 clinical trial of octreotide. Chiasma reported a Q2 loss of $6.9 million.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW)
shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $5.20 as the company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Clarksons Platou
upgraded Aegean Marine Petroleum from Neutral to Buy.
Equities Trading DOWN
EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ: ETRM) shares dropped 40
percent to $1.99. EnteroMedics reported commencement of Series B convertible preferred stock and warrant offering.
Shares of Black Box Corporation (NASDAQ: BBOX)
were down 47 percent to $3.95. Black Box reported Q1 operating loss of $0.33 per share on sales of $191.6 million.
Luxoft Holding Inc (NYSE: LXFT) was down, falling
around 24 percent to $45.95 after the company posted weaker-than-expected Q1 results. Wedbush downgraded Luxoft from Outperform to
Neutral.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.35 percent to $48.76 while gold traded up 0.43 percent to $1,295.60.
Silver traded up 0.23 percent Friday to $17.105, while copper rose 0.28 percent to $2.911.
Eurozone
European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1.04 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.60 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 1.51 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.01 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 1.06
percent while U.K. shares fell 1.08 percent.
Economics
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent for July, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent growth
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs increased by 3 to 768 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
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