Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Acuity Brands Profit Beats Views

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.61 percent to 16,614.50 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.08 percent to 4,740.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.66 percent to 1,955.95. China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.97 percent today.

On Friday, telecommunications services shares gained by 1.03 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 9 percent, and

, up 4 percent. In trading on Friday, energy shares tumbled by 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 4 percent, and

, down 4 percent.

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter on Friday. The company posted quarterly net income of $68.4 million, or $1.57 per share. Excluding items, the company's earnings came in at $1.65 per share. Its revenue rose 14 percent to $736.6 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.58 per share on revenue of $740 million.

shares shot up 27 percent to $11.55 after the company announced plans to sell TransMontaigne GP LLC for $350 million in cash. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 24 percent to $7.33 following release of letter from the CEO.

shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $24.54 LGI Homes closed 433 homes during December. The company finished Q4 with 946 homes closed.

shares dropped 38 percent to $4.46 after the company reported downbeat results for the third quarter on Thursday. Shares of

were down 32 percent to $11.12 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q3 earnings.

was down, falling around 14 percent to $13.66 on weak comparable sales. American Eagle's same-store sales rose 4 percent during the fourth quarter to date.

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.21 percent to $33.34, while gold traded down 0.44 percent to $1,102.90. Silver traded down 1.91 percent Friday to $14.07, while copper rose 0.30 percent to $2.03.

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.20 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.04 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.43 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.52 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.04 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.57 percent.

The U.S. economy added 292,000 new jobs in December, versus economists' expectations for a gain of 205,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent. US wholesale inventories declined 0.3 percent in November, versus economists' expectations for a 0.10 percent drop. Data on consumer credit for November will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.