Courtesy of Benzinga.
Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.69 percent to 13,006.20 while the NASDAQ fell 0.46 percent to 2972.24. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.71 percent to 1,408.25.
Top Headline
Debates over the fiscal cliff continue as a resolution seems far in the distance. As the deadline nears, it has become apparent that markets are becoming more and more focused on the indecision by politicians as the market rallied on news that congress would meet Sunday to discuss the cliff once again.
Equities Trading UP
Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) posted a strong gain early in trading, rising 8.22 percent to $15.53 after it was announced that Pearson had invested in the company’s Nook unit.
Shares of Magnum Hunter Resources (NYSE: MHR) saw a boost as well, gaining 7.28 percent to $4.06 after the company announced that it was reconsidering its Eagle Ford sale.
MagicJack (NASDAQ: Call) was up too, rising 9.46 percent to $17.82 after the company increased its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.
Equities Trading DOWN
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) fell 1.67 percent after the open down to $2.35 after being highlighted as a technology short to consider in a Seeking Alpha piece on Thursday.
DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) was also down, falling 2.42 percent to $1.61 as the agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Marine Alliance is set to expire December 29th, with no deal having been reached thus far.
Shares of Questcor (NASDAQ: QCOR) were down as well, falling 2.47 percent to $27.09, continuing its fall from Thursday as traders were worried by the Blue Cross Blue Shield denial of coverage for the company’s Acthar gel.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.35 percent to $91.19, while gold traded down 0.31 percent to $1,658.40.
Silver traded down 0.25 percent Friday to $29.99.
Eurozone
In the Euro zone, markets were largely down as they felt the weight of the ever nearing fiscal cliff and a weak French GDP release.
Economics
In economic news Friday, Chicago PMI came in at 51.6, above the expected 51.0 and the prior figure of 50.40.
Pending home sales were also released, coming in at
