Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Exxon Mobil Profit Tops Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.54 percent to 17,734.61 while the NASDAQ declined 0.52 percent to 4,780.48. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.54 percent to 2,064.61.

On Friday, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from

and

. In trading on Friday, healthcare shares fell by 1.15 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 17 percent, and

, down 16 percent.

better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Friday. Exxon Mobil's quarterly earnings plunged 63.3 percent to $0.43 a share from $1.17 a share in the same quarter last year. However, the earnings came in $0.12 a share more than the Street analysts' expectations of $0.31 a share. Exxon Mobil's revenue dropped 28 percent to $48.71 billion from $67.62 billion in the year-ago quarter. Yet, it topped the street analysts' expectations of $48.14 billion.

shares shot up 27 percent to $11.33 as the company reported strong quarterly results. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 11 percent to $667.08 after the company reported upbeat results for the first quarter on Thursday. The company posted quarterly EPS of $1.07 and revenue of $29.13 billion, both beating the Street's expectation by $0.49 and $1.15 billion, respectively.

shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $34.12 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

shares dropped 23 percent to $23.36 as the company reported downbeat quarterly revenue. Raymond James downgraded Bottomline Technologies from Outperform to Market Perform. Shares of

were down 17 percent to $7.05 as the company reported a wider-than-expected Q3 loss and lowered its FY16 revenue guidance.

was down, falling around 18 percent to $99.33 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. RBC Capital downgraded Stericycle from Sector Perform to Underperform.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.56 percent to $46.29 while gold traded up 1.07 percent to $1,279.90. Silver traded up 1.26 percent Friday to $17.81, while copper rose 2.26 percent to $2.28.

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 1.64 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 2 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.96 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 2.12 percent, and the French CAC 40 dipped 2.18 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.84 percent.

Consumer spending rose 0.1 percent in March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent growth. Income increased 0.4 percent last month. The employment cost index increased 0.6 percent for the first quarter. The Chicago PMI dropped to 50.4 for April, versus a prior reading of 53.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 53.00. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to 89.00 in April, versus a prior reading of 89.70. However, economists were expecting a reading of 90.00.