Mid-Day Market Update: US Stocks Gain; Fresh Market Shares Decline On Weak Results

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.09 percent to 16,024.02 while the NASDAQ surged 0.39 percent to 3,984.78. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.24 percent to 1,800.22. Top Headline
Foot Locker FL reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit. Foot Locker's quarterly profit surged to $0.70 per share, versus $0.69 per share, in the year-ago period. However, its profit declined to $104 million versus $106 million. Excluding one-time items, it earned $0.68 per share. Its revenue climbed to $1.62 billion from $1.52 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.66 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Equities Trading UP
Ariad Pharmaceuticals ARIA shot up 30.11 percent to $3.63 after the company announced positive opinion by EMA on continued availability of Iclusig. Shares of Splunk SPLK got a boost, shooting up 21.95 percent to $73.05 after the company reported upbeat results for the third quarter and issued a strong forecast. Aruba Networks ARUN was also up, gaining 8.95 percent to $18.74 after the company reported upbeat Q1 results. Needham upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Nordic American Tankers NAT were down 9.61 percent to $8.03 after the company announced the pricing of follow-on offering. The Fresh Market TFM shares tumbled 18.83 percent to $40.91 after the company reported downbeat Q3 results and issued a weak profit outlook. Sterne Agee downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $59.00 to $44.00. Ross Stores ROST was down, falling 7.29 percent to $74.41 after the company reported weak Q3 revenue and cut its Q4 earnings forecast. Maxim Group downgraded the stock from Hold to Sell and lowered the price target from $75.00 to $63.00. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.77 percent to $94.71, while gold traded up 0.11 percent to $1,245.00. Silver traded down 0.26 percent Friday to $19.93, while copper rose 0.52 percent to $3.22. Euro zone
European shares were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.75 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 0.11 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.20 percent and the French CAC 40 surged 0.58 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.11 percent. Economics
US job openings climbed to 3.91 million in September, versus 3.84 million in August. However, job openings increased 8.6% y/y in September. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index rose to 7.00 in November, from a prior reading of 6.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 6.00.