Mid-Day Market Update: Dow Surges 100 Points; Endo International Shares Plummet

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.47 percent to 21,282.69 while the NASDAQ declined 0.29 percent to 6,303.48. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.34 percent to 2,442.08.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy sector was the top gainer in the US market on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included Approach Resources Inc. AREX, Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. PHX, and Unit Corporation UNT.

In trading on Friday, technology shares fell 0.63 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included VirnetX Holding Corporation VHC, down 5 percent, and Renren Inc RENN, down 6 percent.

Top Headline

VeriFone Systems Inc PAY posted a loss for the second quarter and lowered its FY17 outlook on Thursday.

Verifone posted Q2 earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $474 million. Analysts expected earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $472.6 million.

Verifone now expects FY17 adjusted earnings of $1.32 to $1.34 per share, versus earlier outlook of $1.35 to $1.39 per share. It also lowered its sales forecast from $1.895 billion-$1.91 billion, to $1.865 billion-$1.87 billion.

Equities Trading UP

DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. DFT shares shot up 10 percent to $60.56. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. DLR announced plans to merge with DuPont Fabros.

Shares of Layne Christensen Company LAYN got a boost, shooting up 17 percent to $8.90 after the company posted a narrower-than-expected loss for its first quarter.

Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc COLL shares were also up, gaining 10 percent to $11.01 after the company disclosed that it will present data on Xtampza® ER at the 2017 International Conference on Opioids.

Equities Trading DOWN

Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. TOO shares dropped 19 percent to $2.69. Morgan Stanley downgraded Teekay Offshore from Equal-Weight to Underweight.

Shares of Endo International plc ENDP were down 14 percent to $11.80 in reaction to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's request for the company to withdraw from the market its opioid painkiller called Opana ER.. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Endo from Buy to Hold.

Cloudera Inc CLDR was down, falling around 13 percent to $19.93. Cloudera reported Q1 adjusted loss of $0.27 per share on revenue of $79.6 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.14 percent to $46.16 while gold traded down 0.76 percent to $1,269.80.

Silver traded down 1.17 percent Friday to $17.21, while copper rose 1.13 percent to $2.639.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.32 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.23 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.38 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.80 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.67 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.04 percent.

Economics

U.S. wholesale inventories declined 0.50 percent for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent gain.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.