Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Continue to Rise, Navistar Shows Continued Strength

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.41 percent to 14,387 while the NASDAQ rose 0.38 percent to 3,244.25. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.43 percent to 1,550.

The Dow looks set to stall at 14,400, with lower intraday support around the 14,250 level. Major daily support will be found at 14,100. The Russell will take out its 932 resistance and head to new highs, with a bullish MACD cross on its daily chart. The NASDAQ takes out its 3,213.50 intraday resistance and stall out around 3,250. Finally, the S&P continues its uptrend, stalling at 1,550, while 1,538 should act as intraday support.

Pandora Media

posted a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. The company also announced that its Chairman, Chief Executive and President, Joseph Kennedy is stepping down. The company posted a quarterly loss of $14.6 million, or $0.09 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $8.2 million, or $0.05 per share. Excluding one-time items, its adjusted loss came in at $0.04 per share. Its revenue surged 54% to $125.1 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $122.8 million.

Navistar

jumped 11.38 percent to $35.52 following the open after J.P. Morgan issued an upgrade on the company, adding to its rally's momentum. Shares of Tempur-Pedic International

got a boost, shooting up 5.47 percent to $44.95 after the Federal Trade Commission cleared its planned acquisition of Sealy. H&R Block

was also up, gaining 9.09 percent to $27.25 after the company reported Q3 results.

Foot Locker

shares tumbled 6.91 percent to $32.87 after the company reported Q4 results. AVG Technologies NV

was also down, falling 10.77 percent to $14.00 after the company announced the resignation of it CEO. Shares of Finisar

were down 8.78 percent to $14.45 despite beating on earnings Thursday.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.26 percent to $91.80, while gold traded down 0.06 percent to $1,575.90. Silver traded up 0.23 percent Friday to $28.99, while COMEX copper fell 0.16 percent to $351.50.

European shares were higher today as Spanish industrial production continued to improve in January, falling 5 percent on expectations of a 5.2 percent drop and slower than the previous reading of a 6.9 percent drop. The Spanish Ibex Index climbed 2.85 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index surged 1.61 percent. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.80 percent, London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.70 percent, French CAC 40 Index surged 1.22 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.58 percent.

The US economy added 236,000 jobs in the month of February and the unemployment rate declined to 7.7% from 7.9%. However, economists were expecting the economy to add 160,000 jobs and unemployment rate of 7.9% in February. US wholesales inventories climbed 1.2% to $504.4 billion in January. However, economists had expected a rise of around 0.3%. The Fed's Elizabeth Duke is scheduled to speak tonight.