Markets Open Higher; GE Profit Beats Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 1.35 percent to 16,335.52 while the NASDAQ surged 1.33 percent to 4,273.45. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.37 percent to 1,888.34.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped 2.46 percent on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included Westmoreland Coal Co WLB, Basic Energy Services BAS, and Callon Petroleum Company CPE.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares rose by just 0.37 percent. Top losers in the sector included American Midstream Partners, LP AMID, down 1.8 percent, and Consolidated Edison ED, off 1.5 percent.

Top Headline

General Electric Co GE reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company posted quarterly earnings of $3.54 billion, or $0.35 per share, compared to $3.19 billion, or $0.31 per share, in the year-ago period. Its operating earnings climbed to $0.38 per share.

Its revenue surged to $36.17 billion versus $35.66 billion. However, analysts were expecting operating earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $36.79 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Westmoreland Coal Co WLB shares shot up 21.85 percent to $37.35 after the company announced its plans to acquire Oxford GP for $30 million.

Shares of Fabrinet FN got a boost, shooting up 15.89 percent to $17.21 after the company reported Q4 results and issued a strong Q1 forecast. B. Riley upgraded Fabrinet from Neutral to Buy and lowered the price target from $21.00 to $20.00.

Morgan Stanley MS shares were also up, gaining 3.23 percent to $33.58 after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Urban Outfitters URBN were down 13.99 percent to $29.73 after it warned that fourth-quarter profits may be hurt by lower-than expected sales. Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Urban Outfitters from Overweight to Equal-weight and lowered the price target from $44 to $31.

athenahealth ATHN shares tumbled 7.44 percent to $111.53 after the company posted a third-quarter net loss and issued a full-year forecast close to Wall Street's expectations.

Capital One Financial COF was down, falling 2.65 percent to $76.45 on downbeat Q3 earnings.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.62 percent to $83.21, while gold traded down 0.54 percent to $1,234.50.

Silver traded down 0.87 percent Friday to $17.29, while copper rose 0.60 percent to $3.00.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.93 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index jumped 2.54 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 2.55 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.86 percent and the French CAC 40 surged 2.08 percent while UK shares rose 1.14 percent.

Economics

The preliminary reading of Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 86.40 in October, versus a prior reading of 84.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 84.00.

US housing starts climbed 6.3% to an annual rate of 1.02 million in September, versus 957,000 in August.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesEcon #sMarkets
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