Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Ford Tops Q4 Views

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.64 percent to 16,046.33 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.94 percent to 4,510.07. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.77 percent to 1,897.43.

On Thursday, energy shares rose by 3.65 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included

, up 15 percent, and

up 12 percent. In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares dipped by 0.39 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 9 percent, and

, down 8 percent.

reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results. Ford earned $0.58 per share in its fourth quarter on revenue of $37.90 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.51 per share on revenue of $36.40 billion. Ford also announced it will invest $4.5 billion by 2020 in electric solutions.

shares shot up 46 percent to $13.74 as the company reported the FDA approval of Adzenys XR-ODT. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 17 percent to $80.50 as the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $107.35 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.

shares dropped 32 percent to $52.17. OSI Systems reported Q2 earnings of $0.40 per share on revenue of $197 million. The company expects FY16 adjusted earnings of $2.95 to $3.20 per share, on sales of $900 million to $945 million. Shares of

were down 19 percent to $60.68. ServiceNow reported better-than-expected quarterly results, but the company issued a weak revenue forecast.

was down, falling around 16 percent to $4.01. Datawatch reported a Q1 loss of $0.19 per share on revenue of $7.06 million.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.76 percent to $32.87, while gold traded up 0.54 percent to $1,122.30. Silver traded down 0.41 percent Thursday to $14.40, while copper fell 0.65 percent to $2.05.

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 slipped 1.37 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 1.47 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 2.96 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.75 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 1.26 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.85 percent.

US jobless claims dropped 16,000 to 278,000 in the week ending January 23. However, economists were expecting claims to reach 282,000 in the week. US durable-goods orders declined 5.1 percent in December. The pending home sales index rose to 106.8 in December, versus a downwardly-revised reading of 106.7 in November.