Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Mixed as Airlines Show a Boost in Traffic

Top Headline
Yesterday, FireEye FEYE reported that it has acquired privately-held Mandiant for $1.05 billion in a cash and stock deal. FireEye expected Q4 revenue of $55 million to $57 million, versus its earlier forecast of $52 million to $54 million.

Equities Trading UP
Shares of FireEye FEYE got a boost, shooting up 36.74 percent to $56.14 after the company reported that it has acquired privately-held Mandiant for $1.05 billion in a cash and stock deal.DAL was also up, gaining 5.67 percent to $29.27 after the company reported a 10 percent jump in its November PRASM, most likely due to a boost in Thanksgiving traffic.

Rite Aid RAD was also up, gaining 8.73 percent to $5.475 after the company reported a 2.9% gain in its December same-store sales. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals INO were down on Friday's session, falling 13.28 percent to $2.488 despite seemingly little news on the company.

Sprint S tumbled 3.99 percent to $9.99 after analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from Hold to Sell.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.36 percent to $94.14, while gold traded up 0.80 percent to $1,235.20. Silver traded up 0.03 percent Friday to $20.14, while copper fell 0.92 percent to $3.35.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.29 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 1.02 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.43 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.61 percent while U.K. shares climbed 0.37 percent.

Crude supplies fell by 7 million barrels for the week ended December 27, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 1.5 million barrels. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET.