Mid-Day Market Update: EXFO Falls After Q4 Results; Iovance Biotherapeutics Shares Climb

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.80 percent to 25,252.55 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.82 percent to 7,462.44. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.14 percent to 2,759.37.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Friday, the information technology shares climbed 2.54 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Endava plc DAVA up 13 percent, and Appian Corporation APPN up 9 percent.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 0.44 percent.

Top Headline

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter.

JPMorgan posted quarterly earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $27.8 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.25 per share on sales of $27.5 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Corium International Inc CORI shares shot up 51 percent to $12.54 after the company agreed to be taken private by Gurnet Point Capital for $12.50 per share.

Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. IOVA got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $12.08. Iovance Biotherapeutics said, following an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA regarding lead candidate lifileucel, the regulatory body acknowledged that a single-arm cohort as part of C-144-01 could be supportive of initial registration, and conduct of a randomized Phase 3 trial in the patient population being enrolled may not be feasible. The company also priced 22 million shares at $9.97 per share.

Sears Holdings Corporation SHLD shares were also up, gaining 27 percent to $0.4348 amid reports the company is nearing a financing deal that could keep it open through Christmas but could file for bankruptcy as soon as this weekend.

Equities Trading DOWN

Immune Design Corp. IMDZ shares dropped 34 percent to $1.83 after the company said it will discontinue its SYNOVATE trial.

Shares of Wabash National Corporation WNC were down 22 percent to $13.15. Wabash National expects Q3 sales of $550 million to $555 million and adjusted earnings of $0.27 to $0.30 per share.

EXFO Inc EXFO was down, falling around 16 percent to $2.99 after reporting Q4 results. EXFO posted Q4 IFRS net loss of $0.07 per share on sales of $69.216 million. EXFO expects Q1 sales of $66 million to $71 million and IFRS loss of $0.16 to $0.20 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.79 percent to $71.53 while gold traded down 0.38 percent to $1,222.90.

Silver traded up 0.16 percent Friday to $14.63, while copper rose 0.36 to $2.813.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.05 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.42 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX slipped 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.04 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.13 percent.

Economics

The import price index increased 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to 99 for October, from a reading of 100.1.

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

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak in Bali, Indonesia at 10:30 p.m. ET.