Mid-Day Market Update: US Stocks Turn Higher; Starwood Shares Drop Following Anbang Consoritum's Bailed Takeover

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.29 percent to 17,736.59 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.39 percent to 4,888.68. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.18 percent to 2,063.51. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Friday, healthcare shares gained by 0.36 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Cardiovascular Systems Inc CSII, up 30 percent, and Pacific Biosciences of California PACB, up 10 percent. In trading on Friday, energy shares fell by 2.01 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included GulfMark Offshore, Inc. GLF, down 11 percent, and Tidewater Inc. TDW, down 9 percent. Top Headline BlackBerry Ltd BBRY reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fiscal fourth quarter on Friday, but the company missed analysts' revenue expectations. BlackBerry posted a quarterly net loss of $238 million, or $0.45 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $28 million, or $0.05 per share. The company's adjusted loss came in at $0.03 per share. Its revenue declined around 30 percent to $464 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.10 per share on revenue of $563.18 million. Equities Trading UP Cardiovascular Systems Inc CSII shares shot up 30 percent to $13.45 as the company issued a strong Q3 revenue forecast. Shares of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA got a boost, shooting up 4 percent to $238.02 following Thursday night's Model 3 launch event. The electric vehicle will start at a base price of $35,000 (before tax credit, which could lower the price to about $27,500 for buyers), with a range of 215 miles. Production is set to begin towards the end of 2017. TerraForm Power Inc TERP shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $9.70. David Tepper's Appaloosa Capital revealed in a regulatory filing that it has increased in stake in Terraform to 10.88 percent from a prior 9.5 percent. Equities Trading DOWN Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc HOT shares dropped 5 percent to $79.30 following a major development in the bidding war between Anbag Insurance Group and Marriott International. Starwood announced on Thursday it received notification from Anbag Insurance Group and Primavera Capital Limited that it has withdrawn a prior non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Starwood for $82.75 per share. Shares of Rovi Corporation ROVI were down 13 percent to $17.77 as the company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Comcast. Marriott International Inc MAR was down, falling around 5 percent to $67.40. The consortium led by Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd., and including J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited, announced Thursday that it has decided not to proceed with its proposal to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 3.76 percent to $36.90, while gold traded down 1.70 percent to $1,214.60. Silver traded down 3.29 percent Friday to $14.96, while copper rose 0.05 percent to $2.18. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 1.50 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.37 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.54 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 1.78 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 1.67 percent, while U.K. shares fell 0.69 percent. Economics The U.S. economy added 215,000 new jobs in March, while the unemployment rate increased to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. However, economists were projecting an addition of 205,000 nonfarm jobs for March. The manufacturing PMI rose to 51.50 in March, versus a prior reading of 51.40. However, economists were expecting a reading of 51.50. The ISM manufacturing composite index gained to 51.80 in March, versus a prior reading of 49.50. Economists were estimating a reading of 50.70. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to a reading of 91.00 for March, versus a previous reading of 90.00. Economists expected a reading of 90.50. U.S. construction spending declined 0.50 percent for March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.10 percent growth.