Mid-Day Market Update: Ulta Salon Jumps After Strong Earnings Report; Aeropostale Shares Fall

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.21 percent to 16,142.80 while the NASDAQ surged 0.20 percent to 4,268.71. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.19 percent to 1,849.80.

Utilities stocks gained Friday, with Korea Electric Power

leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Huaneng Power International

, with shares up 2.1 percent, and Pampa Energia SA

, with shares up 2.5 percent. Financial sector was the leading decliner in the US market today. Top losers in the sector included GSV Capital

, off 9.3 percent, and Cninsure

, down around 6.6 percent.

Ann

reported a rise in its

and issued a downbeat forecast for the year. The company also announced its plans to lower about 100 jobs. Ann's quarterly earnings surged to $4.7 million, or $0.10 per share, from $2.4 million, or $0.05 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 3% to $623.3 million versus $607.7 million. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $624 million.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance

shares shot up 7.31 percent to $96.05 after the company reported

fourth-quarter earnings. Ulta Salon posted its quarterly earnings of $1.09 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.07 per share. Shares of Ebix

got a boost, shooting up 4.42 percent to $17.00 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings. Liberty Media

was also up, gaining 7.06 percent to $135.04 after the company dropped its bid to buy SiriusXM

. The company will reclassify common stock to create two groups.

Shares of Aeropostale

were down 14.73 percent to $6.23 after the company posted a

fourth-quarter loss and signed a deal with Sycamore Partners for a 5% stake. The company issued weak forecast for the first quarter and also announced its plans to close 50 Aeropostale stores and 2 P.S. stores. Dyax

shares tumbled 9.85 percent to $9.15 after the company priced 8 million shares at $9.25 per share. Raptor Pharmaceuticals

was down, falling 20.45 percent to $11.77 after the company reported Q4 results. Raptor Pharmaceutical posted a Q4 loss of $0.20 per share, versus the projected loss of $0.16 per share.

In commodity news,

to $98.82, while gold traded up 0.76 percent to $1,382.80. Silver traded up 1.92 percent Friday to $21.61, while copper rose 0.75 percent to $2.95.

European shares

today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 2.17 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 1.71 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.41 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 1.17 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.60 percent.

US wholesale prices declined 0.1% in February, while core wholesale prices increased 0.1% in the month. However, economists were expecting a 0.2% gain in wholesale prices. The preliminary reading of the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 79.90 in March, versus a prior reading of 81.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 82.00.