Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; LinkedIn Issues Downbeat Outlook

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.51 percent to 15,708.45 while the NASDAQ surged 0.85 percent to 4,091.51. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.72 percent to 1,786.27.

On Thursday, LinkedIn

reported

results. However, the company issued a weak forecast. LinkedIn expected Q1 revenue of $455 million to $460 million, versus analysts' estimates of $471 million. LinkedIn posted its Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share on revenue of $447.2 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $438 million.

athenahealth

shot up 19.33 percent to $165.97 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results. Shares of Aaron's

got a boost, shooting up 18.11 percent to $31.95 on upbeat Q4 earnings. Expedia

was also up, gaining 14.12 percent to $74.34 after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Shares of Genpact

were down 16.89 percent to $14.32 after the company issued a downbeat FY14 revenue forecast. LinkedIn

shares tumbled 9.11 percent to $203.10 after the company issued a weak guidance. Bank of America cut the price target on LinkedIn from $240.00 to $232.00. VeriSign

was down, falling 7.07 percent to $51.50 after the company reported Q4 results.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.01 percent to $97.85, while gold traded up 0.21 percent to $1,259.80. Silver traded down 0.34 percent Friday to $19.86, while copper rose 0.45 percent to $3.24.

European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.11 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.90 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.46 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.68 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.38 percent.

The US economy added 113,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate declined to 6.6% versus 6.7%. However, economists were projecting an addition of 180,000 nonfarm jobs. Data on consumer credit for December will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.