Courtesy of Benzinga.
Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.04 percent to 17,086.21 while the NASDAQ surged 0.42 percent to 4,577.03. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.24 percent to 2,001.48.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology shares rose by 0.37 percent on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The9 Limited (NASDAQ: NCTY), up 35 percent, and Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO), up 8.4 percent.
In trading on Friday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.03 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Kandi Technolgies Group, (NASDAQ: KNDI), down 6.5 percent, and Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN), off 6.9 percent.
Top Headline
Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings and raised its FY14 earnings forecast.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company posted quarterly earnings of $19.9 million, or $0.36 per share, compared to $18.1 million, or $0.31 per share, in the year-ago period. Its profit from continuing operations came in at $0.31 per share. The company had projected earnings of $0.24 to $0.30 per share.
Its net sales gained 1.2% to $1.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $1.2 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Criteo SA (NASDAQ: CRTO) shares shot up 17.46 percent to $36.00 following a Les Echos report that Publicis has restarted talks to buy the company.
Shares of Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) got a boost, shooting up 19.11 percent to $29.73 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and issued a strong third-quarter outlook.
Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK) shares were also up, gaining 19.28 percent to $54.02 after the company reported upbeat results for the fiscal second quarter and lifted its forecast for the year.
Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Kandi Technologies Group (NASDAQ: KNDI) were down 6.38 percent to $17.90 after the company announced that it has entered into an agreement for registered direct placement of $71 million of common stock and warrants.
Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) shares tumbled 2.22 percent to $46.15 on Q2 results. Big Lots reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings and raised its FY14 earnings forecast. The company also announced a new $125 million share-repurchase program.
Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) was down, falling 6.96 percent to $2.14 after the company posted in-line results for the second quarter and issued a weak forecast.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.66 percent to $95.17, while gold traded down 0.08 percent to $1,289.40.
Silver traded down 0.10 percent Friday to $19.59, while copper rose 0.51 percent to $3.17.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.32 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.31 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.39 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.06 percent while UK shares dropped 0.21 percent.
Economics
US consumer spending dropped 0.1% in July, while personal income rose 0.2% in July. However, economists were expecting a 0.2% rise in spending and 0.3% gain in income.
The Chicago PMI surged to 64.30 in August, versus a prior reading of 52.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 56.50.
The final reading of the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 82.50 in August, versus a prior reading of 79.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 80.00.
Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Commodities Offerings Intraday Update
