U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining over 100 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.44% to 34,041.58 while the NASDAQ rose 0.92% to 13,646.21. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.60% to 4,373.61.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares surged by 1.4% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares rose by just 0.04%.

Top Headline

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment declined to 60.4 in November, recording the lowest reading in six months, versus 63.8 in October and compared to market estimates of 63.7.

Equities Trading UP

TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TCON) shares shot up 56% to $0.2489 after the company reported third-quarter financial results.

Shares of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRCT) got a boost, shooting 36% to $3.54 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results.

Marpai, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRAI) shares were also up, gaining 49% to $0.5707 after the company filed to withdraw the registration statement on Form S-1. The company confirmed no securities have been sold in connection with the offering contemplated by the Registration Statement.

Equities Trading DOWN

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:BW) shares dropped 46% to $1.2375 after the company reported third-quarter financial results.

Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) were down 45% to $3.2660 after the company reported worse-than-expected third-quarter financial results.

2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) was down, falling 48% to $1.2488 after the company reported third-quarter earnings and lowered its 2023 revenue outlook.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.1% to $77.33 while gold traded down 1.2% at $1,946.90.

Silver traded down 2% to $22.44 on Friday while copper fell 1.5% to $3.5860.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dipped 1.25%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.63% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.59% The German DAX fell 0.94 % French CAC 40 fell 1.23%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.63%.

The British economy grew 0.6% year-over-year in the third quarter, the same as in the second quarter. Construction orders in the UK fell 20% year-over-year in the third quarter. Industrial production in the UK came in flat for September versus August, while trade deficit narrowed to £1.57 billion in September versus a revised £2.70 billion in the previous month.

Industrial production in Italy came in flat month-over-month in September versus a revised 0.3% increase in August.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.24%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.76% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declining 0.47%. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, meanwhile, rose around 0.1%.

Hong Kong’s GDP grew by 4.1% year-over-year in the third quarter, up from a 1.5% expansion in the prior period.

Economics

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment declined to 60.4 in November, recording the lowest reading in six months, versus 63.8 in October and compared to market estimates of 63.7.

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