Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.18 percent to 22,881.09 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.30 percent to 6,611.35.
The S&P also rose, gaining 0.21 percent to 2,556.31.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Friday afternoon, the basic materials shares surged 1.61 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE: CLF), up 9 percent, and
ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE: MT), up 8 percent.
In trading on Friday, healthcare shares fell 0.32 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Antares Pharma
Inc (NASDAQ: ATRS), down 38 percent, and Infinity
Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) down 16 percent.
Top Headline
Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) posted
stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
Bank of America posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $22.08 billion. However, analysts expected
earnings of $0.45 per share on revenue of $22.07 billion.
Equities Trading UP
PhaseRx Inc (NASDAQ: PZRX) shares shot up 28
percent to $1.13 as the company reported corporate restructuring and announced plans to review strategic alternatives.
Shares of Net Element International Inc (NASDAQ: NETE) got a boost, shooting up 47 percent to $5.95. Net Element disclosed that
e-commerce and value-added integrated services volumes rose 134 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2017.
Leading Brands, Inc (USA) (NASDAQ: LBIX) shares
were also up, gaining 145 percent to $3.31 on no formal news from company. The stock rallied 215 percent over Tuesday and Wednesday
of this week amid trader speculation stock could be sympathy play on move higher in Helios & Matheson. However, Leading Brands
shares sold off 27 percent on Thursday.
Equities Trading DOWN
Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: ATRS) shares dropped
39 percent to $2.28 after the company disclosed the receipt of an FDA letter that notified the company of deficiencies in its
XYOSTED NDA filing.
Shares of Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (NASDAQ: TNDM)
were down 37 percent to $2.97 after the company reported a proposed offering of common stock and series A and B warrants.
Applied Optoelectronics Inc (NASDAQ: AAOI) was
down, falling around 19 percent to $47.59 after the company offered a warning related to its upcoming third-quarter results
Thursday afternoon. Applied Optoelectronics reduced its third-quarter sales guidance from a prior $107 million-$115 million to a
new range of $88 million-$89 million. Earnings per share are expected to come in between $1.04 and $1.09, well below the previous
guidance figures in the range of $1.30-$1.43. The company announced Thursday afternoon its largest customer, Amazon.com, Inc., is
no longer placing orders to buy its components.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.72 percent to $51.47 while gold traded up 0.49 percent to $1,302.90.
Silver traded up 0.57 percent Friday to $17.365, while copper rose 0.37 percent to $3.1315.
Eurozone
European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.29 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.17
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.07 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.07 percent, and the French CAC 40
slipped 0.17 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.28 percent.
Economics
The Consumer Price Index gained 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent rise
U.S. retail sales rose 1.6 percent for September, compared to economists’ expectations for a 1.7 percent growth
U.S. business inventories increased 0.7 percent for August, versus economists’ estimates for 0.7 percent gain.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 101.10 in October, from prior reading of 95.10. Economists
expected a reading of 95.10.
The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 5 to 743 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.
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