Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Lower; Staples Misses Q4 Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.07 percent to 16,932.19 while the NASDAQ declined 0.12 percent to 4,701.95. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.12 percent to 1,991.05.

On Friday, basic materials shares rose by 1.18 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell by 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 2 percent, and

, down 1 percent.

reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Staples posted a quarterly profit of $86 million, or $0.13 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $260 million, or $0.41 per share. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.26 per share. Its sales dropped 6.9 percent to $5.23 billion from $5.66 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.28 per share, on sales of $5.4 billion.

shares shot up 17 percent to $1.77. SunEdison and

announced the settlement and termination of Latin America Power acquisition. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 16 percent to $29.08 after the company agreed to be acquired by

for $30.00 per share.

shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $15.41 as the company reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Thursday.

shares dropped 56 percent to $4.30. Vitae Pharmaceuticals reported a Q4 loss $0.52 per share on revenue of $92,000. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Vitae Pharmaceuticals from Buy to Hold. Shares of

were down 18 percent to $6.76 after the company issued a downbeat earnings outlook for the current quarter.

was down, falling around 14 percent to $5.55 after the company reported weak Q4 results.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.55 percent to $34.76, while gold traded up 0.36 percent to $1,262.70. Silver traded up 1.54 percent Friday to $15.38, while copper rose 1.04 percent to $2.23.

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.72 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.85 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 0.47 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.95 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.07 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.72 percent.

The U.S. economy added 242,000 new jobs in February. However, economists were expecting a gain of 190,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9 percent for the month. The U.S. trade gap increased to $45.7 billion in January, versus a revised $44.7 billion, a month ago. U.S. exports declined 2.1 percent to $176.5 billion, while imports dropped 1.3 percent to $222.1 billion.