Mid-Day Market Update: Youku Tudou Jumps Following Announcement of Proposal from Alibaba; Quanta Services Shares Slide

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.19 percent to 17,173.85 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.01 percent to 4,870.56. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.14 percent to 2,026.66. Leading and Lagging Sectors In trading on Friday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares jumped by 0.53 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Cal-Maine Foods Inc CALM, up 4 percent, and Calavo Growers, Inc. CVGW, up 3 percent. In trading on Friday, basic materials shares dipped by 1.15 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included HORSEHEAD HOLDING CORP. ZINC, down 13 percent, and Resolute Forest Products Inc RFP, off 9 percent. Top Headline General Electric Company GE reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter on Friday. The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company reported a quarterly profit of $2.51 billion, or $0.25 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $3.54 billion, or $0.35 per share. Its operating earnings came in at $0.32 per share for the recent quarter, while industrial operating plus verticals earnings came in at $0.29 per share. Its revenue declined 1 percent to $31.68 billion, while industrial plus verticals sales came in at $27.9 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.26 per share on revenue of $28.57 billion. Equities Trading UP Youku Tudou Inc (ADR) YOKU shares shot up 22 percent to $24.99 following announcement of proposal from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA of $26.60 per share. Shares of Harsco Corporation HSC got a boost, shooting up 8 percent to $10.82. Harsco projects that Q3 adjusted earnings will be above the earlier provided guidance range. Mattel, Inc. MAT shares were also up, gaining 5 percent to $23.57. Mattel reported weaker-than-expected results for the third quarter on Thursday. Equities Trading DOWN Zafgen Inc ZFGN shares tumbled 38 percent to $13.08 on beloranib partial clinical hold. Shares of Cempra Inc CEMP were down 32 percent to $18.25 after the company announced positive topline Phase 3 clinical results for IV Solithromycin in the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Quanta Services Inc PWR was down, falling 29 percent to $18.74 after the company lowered its Q3 earnings forecast and issued a weak sales outlook. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.91 percent to $46.80, while gold traded down 0.56 percent to $1,180.90. Silver traded down 0.55 percent Friday to $16.08, while copper fell 0.89 percent to $2.40. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 climbed 0.59 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.28 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.54 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.39 percent, and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.59 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.62 percent. Economics US industrial production slipped 0.2 percent in September, versus economists' expectations for a 0.2 percent decline. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 92.10 in October, versus a prior reading of 87.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 89.00.