Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Moneygram Gains On Earnings Beat; Pandora Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.42 percent to 15,882.65 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.95 percent to 4,307.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.29 percent to 1,852.75. Leading and Lagging SectorsOn Friday, basic materials shares surged by 3.09 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ: MERC), up 30 percent, and Teck Resources Ltd (USA) (NYSE: TCK) up 23 percent. In trading on Friday, utilities shares rose by just 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included NRG Energy Inc (NYSE: NRG), down 4 percent, and Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN), down 7 percent.Top HeadlineGroupon Inc (NASDAQ: GRPN) reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Thursday.Earnings were $0.04 per share above Wall Street's breakeven estimates, while revenue were $917.2 million above $845 million consensus.Groupon added that it sees full year 2016 revenue between $2.75 billion and $3 billion versus estimates of $2.97 billion.Equities Trading UP Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ: MERC) shares shot up 31 percent to $8.02 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings.Shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ: GRPN) got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $2.86 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Thursday. Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI) shares were also up, gaining 21 percent to $5.74 after the company reported upbeat Q4 earnings.Equities Trading DOWN LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: LPLA) shares dropped 38 percent to $15.64 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q4 results.Shares of Pandora Media Inc (NYSE: P) were down 17 percent to $7.58 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. The company has been involved in talks regarding a potential sale of the company, according to sources as reported by New York Times DealBook on Thursday. Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ: SCSS) was down, falling around 25 percent to $15.35 after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and issued a weak earnings forecast. CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 10.87 percent to $29.06, while gold traded down 0.64 percent to $1,239.80. Silver traded down 0.03 percent Friday to $15.79, while copper rose 1.12 percent to $2.03.EurozoneEuropean shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 jumped 2.91 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.25 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 4.70 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 2.45 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 2.52 percent, while U.K. shares rose 3.08 percent.EconomicsU.S. import prices declined 1.1 percent in January, while export prices slipped 0.8 percent in January.U.S. retail sales gained 0.2 percent in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.1 percent growth.The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to 90.70 in February, versus a prior reading of 92.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 92.00.