Mid-Day Market Update: Gold Prices Fall on Strength in US Dollar, Stock

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow was up 0.43 percent to 15,298.41, while the NASDAQ rose 0.49 percent to 3,482.33. The S&P was also up 0.51 percent to 1,658.90.

Gold has plummeted 4.8% as the week comes to a close, dropping below $1,390 an ounce, the lowest level seen since April 17. The precious metal has lost almost 25% over seven months, and founder and chief investment strategist at Hays Advisory Group, Don Hays, believes that the metal could continue to fall in the coming months down to $1,100 an ounce. Many attribute this decline in gold prices to the strengthening of the US dollar and the gains seen in by equities. These two factors could have affected investor interest in gold in the recent past, in addition to the continuing sales of gold backed ETFs. Shares in the SPDR Gold Trust

had dropped 5% week-on-week and more than 14% quarter-to-date.

National Bank of Greece SA

shot up, gaining 14.51 percent to $2.29, after Fitch Ratings upgraded its rating on Greek ADR as well as its sovereign credit rating for Greece by one notch. Marketo, Inc

got a boost, shooting up 55.15 percent to $20.17. Marketo's IPO opened Friday at $20.00 per share. SolarCity Corporation

was also up 20.96 percent to $43.17, after SolarCity entered into an agreement with Goldman Sachs which will bring an additional $500 million in financing for homes and businesses. The deal is expected to help product up to 110 megawatts of solar panel products.

Aruba Networks, Inc

was down, falling 26.18 percent to $13.00, after the company posted weaker-than-expected fiscal Q3 results. An unusually high volume of shares exchanged hands Friday morning, adding to the decline in the share price. Autodesk, Inc

shares tumbled 6.51 percent to $37.19, after the company reported disappointing first quarter results, with a 30% decline in earnings. Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X Shrs

was down 8.56 percent to $8.55. Direxion Daily Gold Miners' shares outstanding witnessed a week-on-week increase of 19.0 percent, with an approximate dollar inflow of $45.5 million.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.25 percent to $95.40, while gold declined 1.81 percent to $1,361.80. Silver also fell, declining 1.78 percent Friday to $22.26, while copper was up 0.68 percent to $3.32.

European shares mixed overnight with moves remaining tepid following the auto sales data. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.08 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index added 0.17 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.08 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.15 percent while U.K. shares added 0.11 percent.

Narayana Kocherlakota, President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, is scheduled to speak as part of the panel on monetary policy and financial regulation at the University of Chicago Booth School at 1.45pm ET.