Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Swift Transportation Surges On Upbeat Earnings; Qumu Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.26 percent to 18,565.44 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.53 percent to 5,100.82. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.44 percent to 2,174.73.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Friday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed by 0.92 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Boston Beer Co Inc SAM and LifeVantage Corp LFVN.

In trading on Friday, basic materials shares fell by 0.05 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Olin Corporation OLN, down 21 percent, and Clearwater Paper Corp CLW, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

General Electric Company GE reported better-than-expected profit for its second quarter on Friday.

GE posted adjusted earnings of $0.51 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.46 per share. Its revenue climbed 15 percent to $33.49 billion. Sales from continuing industrial operations declined 1 percent to $24.4 billion in the quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Swift Transportation Co SWFT shares shot up 14 percent to $19.12 after the company posted upbeat Q2 earnings.

Shares of Puma Biotechnology Inc PBYI got a boost, shooting up 19 percent to $41.14 after the company reported that it has submitted New Drug Application for PB272 to the FDA for the extended adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early stage breast cancer.

Boston Beer Co Inc SAM shares were also up, gaining 15 percent to $189.14 as the company reported posted upbeat results for its second quarter.

Equities Trading DOWN

Skechers USA Inc SKX shares dropped 23 percent to $24.82 as the company posted weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter on Thursday.

Shares of Olin Corporation OLN were down 21 percent to $20.55 after the company updated its guidance. Olin projects Q2 net income to be breakeven and adjusted EBITDA of $180 million. It also expects FY16 adjusted EBITDA of $840 million to $900 million.

Qumu Corp QUMU was down, falling around 26 percent to $3.41 as the company reported weak preliminary financial results for the second quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.27 percent to $44.18 while gold traded down 0.56 percent to $1,331.40.

Silver traded down 0.68 percent Friday to $19.68, while copper fell 1.02 percent to $2.24.

Eurozone

European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.07 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.19 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index slipped 0.16 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.09 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.11 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.46 percent.

Economics

The Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 52.90 for July, versus a prior reading of 51.30. However, economists were expecting a reading of 51.60.