Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Surges 300 Points; Quality Systems Shares Tumble

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.92 percent to 16,377.92 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.65 percent to 4,580.91. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.85 percent to 1,928.31.

On Friday, telecommunications services shares rose by 2.33 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 8 percent, and

up 7 percent. In trading on Friday, healthcare shares rose by just 1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 11 percent, and

, down 8 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, but the company's revenue missed analysts' estimates. MasterCard's quarterly profit surged to $890 million, or $0.79 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $801 million, or $0.69 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue rose 4 percent to $2.5 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.69 per share on revenue of $2.59 billion.

shares shot up 83 percent to $17.91.

proposed to acquire Axiall for $20.00 per share in cash and stock. However, Axiall rejected the offer from Westlake. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 41 percent to $19.39 as the company agreed to be acquired by

.

shares were also up, gaining 52 percent to $7.85 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

shares dropped 21 percent to $12.83. Quality Systems reported upbeat Q3 earnings, but the company's sales missed analysts' expectations. The company named David Metcalfe as chief technology officer. Shares of

were down 11 percent to $44.70. Abaxis reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but the company missed analysts' sales estimates.

was down, falling around 8 percent to $584.26 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.87 percent to $33.51, while gold traded up 0.03 percent to $1,116.40. Silver traded up 0.20 percent Friday to $14.26, while copper rose 0.51 percent to $2.06.

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 climbed 2.20 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 2.62 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 2.57 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.64 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 2.19 percent, while U.K. shares rose 2.56 percent.

US GDP increased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, versus economists' expectations for a 0.8 percent growth. The employment cost index surged 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, versus economists' expectations for a 0.6 percent rise. The Chicago PMI gained 12.7 points to 55.6 in January. Economists were projecting a reading of 45.00. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to 92.0 in January, compared to a prior reading of 93.30. However, economists projected a reading of 93.5.