Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Edge Higher; Cal-Maine Sales Miss Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.02 percent to 19,922.07 while the NASDAQ rose 0.07 percent to 5,451.00. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 2,262.04.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares gained around 0.45 percent in trading on Friday.

In trading on Friday, basic materials shares slipped by 0.31 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Dorchester Minerals LP DMLP, down 2 percent, and Braskem SA (ADR) BAK, down 3 percent.

Top Headline

Cal-Maine Foods Inc CALM posted in-line loss for its second quarter, but sales missed expectations.

Cal-Maine Foods reported a Q2 loss of $0.48 per share on revenue of $253.5 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.48 per share on revenue of $262.8 million.

Equities Trading UP

Dipexium Pharmaceuticals Inc DPRX shares shot up 50 percent to $2.40 after the company announced plans to merge with privately-held PLx Pharma Inc in an all-stock deal.

Shares of Acasti Pharma Inc ACST got a boost, shooting up 47 percent to $1.70.

Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc SGYP shares were also up, gaining 7 percent to $5.06 after the company announced after Thursday's closing bell that its drug plecanatide, a daily pill to fight irritable bowel syndrome, had achieved positive top-line results from the second of two pivotal phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of the drug.

Equities Trading DOWN

Bonanza Creek Energy Inc BCEI shares dropped 40 percent to $1.17 after the company reported that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with bondholders holding more than $400 million in unsecured debt. The company also disclosed that it will commence its prepackaged bankruptcy case on or before January 5, 2017.

Shares of Cintas Corporation CTAS were down around 5 percent to $114.81. Cintas reported weak earnings for its second quarter. However, the company raised its forecast for fiscal 2017.

Prana Biotechnology Limited (ADR) PRAN was down, falling around 19 percent to $1.60.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.98 percent to $52.43 while gold traded up 0.14 percent to $1,132.30.

Silver traded down 0.26 percent Friday to $15.83, while copper rose 0.06 percent to $2.50.

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.03 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.14 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.98 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.27 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 0.11 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.06 percent.

Economics

New-home sales surged 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 592,000 in November. However, economists were expecting a 2.1 percent growth.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 98.20 in December, versus a prior reading of 98.00. Economists were expecting a reading of 98.00.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.