Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Jumps 200 Points; Bojangles Shares Climb Following Upbeat Earnings

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.20 percent to 17,199.62 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.47 percent to 4,730.73. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.38 percent to 2,017.11.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Friday, energy shares surged by 2.60 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII), Willbros Group Inc (NYSE: WG), and Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CIE).

In trading on Friday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by just 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Medifast Inc (NYSE: MED), down 5 percent, and Bridgford Foods Corporation (NASDAQ: BRID), down 6 percent.

Top Headline

Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Friday.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company posted a quarterly profit of $0.76 per share, on revenue of $245.7 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.73 per share on revenue of $246.2 million.

Hibbett projects full-year earnings of $2.90 to $3.04 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $3.08 per share.
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Equities Trading UP

1st Century Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCTY) shares shot up 32 percent to $10.89 after the company agreed to be acquired by MidFirst Bank for $11.22 per share in cash.

Shares of Bojangles Inc (NASDAQ: BOJA) got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $18.04 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday.

Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) shares were also up, gaining 18 percent to $16.70 after the company reported upbeat Q3 earnings.

Equities Trading DOWN

FXCM Inc (NYSE: FXCM) shares dropped 23 percent to $11.15 after the company delivered a fourth-quarter net loss of $(15.75) per share, and revenue of $66.99 million.

Shares of TrovaGene Inc (NASDAQ: TROV) were down 13 percent to $5.28. Trovagene reported a Q4 loss of $(0.26) per share.

Sunrun Inc (NASDAQ: RUN) was down, falling around 13 percent to $6.22. Sunrun reported a Q4 loss of $(0.15) per share on revenue of $99.6 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.82 percent to $38.53, while gold traded down 1.01 percent to $1,259.90.

Silver traded up 0.46 percent Friday to $15.62, while copper rose 0.95 percent to $2.24.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 2.62 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 3.7069 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index jumped 4.80 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 3.51 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 3.27 percent, while U.K. shares rose 1.71 percent.

Economics

U.S. import prices declined 0.3 percent in February, versus economists' expectations for a 0.6 percent drop.