Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Neogen Earnings Miss View

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.57 percent to 17,225.49 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.57 percent to 4,951.03. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.59 percent to 2,017.45. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Monday, technology shares surged by 0.94 percent. Top gainers in the sector included AU Optronics Corp (ADR) AUO, Changyou.Com Ltd (ADR) CYOU, and LG Display Co Ltd. (ADR) LPL. In trading on Monday, energy shares slipped by 0.14 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Stone Energy Corporation SGY, down 12 percent, and Targa Resources Partners LP NGLS, down 10 percent. Top Headline Neogen Corp. NEOG reported downbeat earnings for its fiscal second quarter. Neogen posted a quarterly profit of $9.1 million, or $0.24 per share on revenue of $79.6 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.26 per share on revenue of $76.80 million. Equities Trading UP NetSol Technologies Inc. NTWK shares shot up 38 percent to $8.85 after the company reported that it has signed a contract currently valued at more than $100 million. Shares of AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AVEO got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $1.24. AVEO and EUSA Pharma reported an exclusive licensing agreement for Tivozanib in Europe. Ericsson (ADR) ERIC shares were also up, gaining 6 percent to $9.64. Ericsson and Apple Inc AAPL have signed a global patent license agreement and settled litigation. Equities Trading DOWN Naked Brand Group Inc NAKD shares tumbled 11 percent to $3.53 after the company priced a public offering of 1.875 million shares at $4.00 per share. Shares of Targa Resources Partners LP NGLS were down 8 percent to $14.12. Credit Suisse downgraded Targa Resources Partners from Outperform to Underperform and lowered the price target from $49.00 to $22.00. Lightinthebox Holding Co Ltd-ADR LITB was down, falling 14 percent to $3.55 after the company reported Q3 results. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 0.86 percent to $34.43, while gold traded up 0.88 percent to $1,074.40. Silver traded up 1.06 percent Monday to $14.25, while copper rose 0.64 percent to $2.13. Eurozone European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.29 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dipped 2.52 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index jumped 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.80 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.42 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.91 percent. Economics The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to a reading of -0.30 in November, versus a prior reading of -0.04. Economists expected a reading of 0.10.