Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Tumble; Smithfield Posts Drop In Q1 Profit

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.72 percent to 14,829.43 while the NASDAQ tumbled 0.66 percent to 3,634.78. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.55 percent to 1,645.92. Top Headline
Smithfield Foods SFD reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. Smithfield's quarterly profit dropped to $39.5 million, from $61.7 million, in the year-earlier period. Its earnings per share fell to $0.27 from $0.40. Its revenue climbed to $3.4 billion from $3.1 billion. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.47 per share. Equities Trading UP
Quiksilver ZQK shot up 18.27 percent to $6.15 after the company reported upbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings. Shares of VeriFone Systems PAY got a boost, shooting up 8.88 percent to $22.56 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. Finisar FNSR was also up, gaining 7.55 percent to $24.57 after the company issued strong Q2 outlook. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Mattress Firm Holding MFRM were down 14.66 percent to $35.58 after the company reported downbeat second-quarter results and lowered its forecast. MannKind MNKD shares tumbled 4.92 percent to $5.99 after analysts at Bank of America downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform. Smith & Wesson Holding SWHC was down, falling 6.01 percent to $10.79 after the company issued a downbeat Q2 forecast. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.95 percent to $109.40, while gold traded up 0.77 percent to $1,383.60. Silver traded up 2.26 percent Friday to $23.78, while copper rose 0.94 percent to $3.27. Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.32 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 1.37 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.43 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.70 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.35 percent. Economics
The US economy added 169,000 jobs in August, while the country's unemployment rate declined to 7.3% from 7.4%. Economists were expecting a 173,000 gain in jobs in August.