Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Tiffany Q4 Profit Beats Views

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.55 percent to 17,577.37 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.04 percent to 4,776.68. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.36 percent to 2,047.98. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Friday, basic materials shares rose by 1.22 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF, AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS, and LSB Industries, Inc. LXU. In trading on Friday, healthcare shares dipped by 0.19 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Synergy Pharmaceuticals SGYP, down 15 percent, and Anacor Pharmaceuticals ANAC, down 5 percent. Top Headline Tiffany & Co. TIF reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but the company projects profit to drop in the first half of 2016. Tiffany posted adjusted earnings of $1.46 per share for the latest quarter, beating analysts' estimates of $1.40 per share. Its sales declined 5.6 percent to $1.21 billion in the quarter. The company projects earnings per share to fall by 15 percent to 20 percent in the first quarter, and by 5 percent to 10 percent in the second quarter. Equities Trading UP New York & Company, Inc. NWY shares shot up 30 percent to $3.43. New York & Co. reported Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.01 per share on sales of $271.3 million. The company also issued a strong Q1 earnings forecast. Shares of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc CPGX got a boost, shooting up 7 percent to $25.06 after TransCanada Corporation (USA) TRP announced plans to acquire Columbia Pipeline for$25.50 per share in cash. Adobe Systems Incorporated ADBE shares were also up, gaining 5 percent to $94.49 as the company reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter and raised its outlook for the full year. Equities Trading DOWN Heat Biologics Inc HTBX shares dropped 65 percent to $0.650 as the company reported the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 9.1 million shares of its common stock and warrants. Shares of CymaBay Therapeutics Inc CBAY were down 26 percent to $1.26 as the company reported top-line results from its pilot Phase 2 clinical study of MBX-8025. Aeropostale Inc ARO was down, falling around 42 percent to $0.278 as the company reported a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter and announced plans to explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 2.36 percent to $41.15, while gold traded down 0.95 percent to $1,253.00. Silver traded down 0.05 percent Friday to $16.03, while copper rose 0.20 percent to $2.30. Eurozone European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 climbed 0.35 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.73 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.61 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.31 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.34 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.40 percent. Economics The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 90.00 in March, versus a prior reading of 91.70. However, economists were expecting a reading of 92.20.