Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Green as Avanir Plummets

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.35 percent to 15,354.01, while the NASDAQ rose 0.07 percent to 3,718.78. The S&P was also up, gaining 0.15 percent to 1,685.10. Top Headline
Yesterday, Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA reported upbeat quarterly results. Ulta's quarterly earnings came in at $0.70 per share on revenue of $601 million, versus a year-ago profit of $0.54 per share on sales of $481.7 million. Equities Trading UP
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA shot up, gaining 17.12 percent to $117.27, after the company reported upbeat results. United Natural Foods UNFI was also up 12.92 percent to $67.72, after the company reported a 28% rise in its fiscal fourth quarter. ViroPharma VPHM was up as well, gaining 26.98 percent to $38.69 after the company got a gleaming report from Deutsche Bank this morning saying shares were worth $52. Equities Trading DOWN
Under Armour UA was down, falling 2.31 percent to $78.73, after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral. Avanir Pharmaceuticals AVNR was also down, falling 17.04 percent to $4.13 after Gravity Research took aim at the company on Wednesday while analyst defences of the company yesterday did little for its shares on today's session. Stratasys SSYS was down 5.79 percent to $92.13 after the company priced 4.5 million shares of ordinary shares at $92.09 per share. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.07 percent to $107.31, while gold dropped 0.29 percent to $1,360.30. Silver traded up 1.32 percent Friday to $22.09, while copper rose 0.33 percent to $3.20. Euro zone
European shares were slightly lower on Friday. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.12 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.39 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.13 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.11 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.37 percent. Economics
US wholesale prices rose 0.3% in August, while core wholesale prices came in unchanged in the month. However, economists were expecting a 0.2% rise. US retail sales climbed 0.2% in August, less than analysts expected. The University of Michigan Consumer Confidence reading dropped to a preliminary reading of 76.8 in September, versus a final August reading of 82.1. US business inventories rose 0.40% in July, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20% rise.