Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Activision Rallies as Market Ignores Poor Jobs Number

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.00 percent to 15,785.87 while the NASDAQ surged 1.61 percent to 4,122.59. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.28 percent to 1,796.90.

Top Headline
On Thursday, LinkedIn LNKD reported upbeat fourth-quarter 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.

Equities Trading UP
athenahealth ATHN shot up 25.81 percent to $174.99 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results. Shares of

Activision Blizzard ATVI were up as well, gaining 14.15 percent to $19.60 after the company impressed traders with its earnings report after the close Thursday.

Expedia EXPE was also up, gaining 15.00 percent to $74.91 after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results. 

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of NCR Corp NCR fell on Friday's session, dropping 8.40 percent to $32.04 despite beating on earnings Thursday after the company guided its fiscal year 2014 EPS guidance below street expectations.

LinkedIn LNKD shares tumbled 6.32 percent to $209.35 after the company issued a weak guidance. Bank of America cut the price target on LinkedIn from $240.00 to $232.00.

VeriSign VRSN was down, falling 4.64 percent to $52.85 after the company reported Q4 results. 

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.19 percent to $99.98, while gold traded up 0.70 percent to $1,266.20. Silver traded up 0.36 percent Friday to $20.00, while copper rose 0.36 percent to $3.24.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.08 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.96 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.49 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.96 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.20 percent.

Economics
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.