Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; JPMorgan Earnings Top Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 1.32 percent to 25,382.63 while the NASDAQ climbed 2.39 percent to 7,504.00. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.61 percent to 2,772.27.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Friday morning, the information technology shares climbed 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Endava plc DAVA up 13 percent, and Appian Corporation APPN up 12 percent.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 0.0356 percent.

Top Headline

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter.

JPMorgan posted quarterly earnings of $2.34 per share on revenue of $27.8 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.25 per share on sales of $27.5 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Corium International Inc CORI shares shot up 51 percent to $12.51 after the company agreed to be taken private by Gurnet Point Capital for $12.50 per share.

Shares of Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. IOVA got a boost, shooting up 17 percent to $11.70. Iovance Biotherapeutics said, following an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA regarding lead candidate lifileucel, the regulatory body acknowledged that a single-arm cohort as part of C-144-01 could be supportive of initial registration, and conduct of a randomized Phase 3 trial in the patient population being enrolled may not be feasible. The company also priced 22 million shares at $9.97 per share.

Alliqua BioMedical, Inc. ALQA shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $2.42 after reporting a merger deal with Adynxx.

Equities Trading DOWN

Immune Design Corp. IMDZ shares dropped 43 percent to $1.6029 after the company said it will discontinue its SYNOVATE trial.

Shares of Wabash National Corporation WNC were down 21 percent to $13.255. Wabash National expects Q3 sales of $550 million to $555 million and adjusted earnings of $0.27 to $0.30 per share.

EXFO Inc EXFO was down, falling around 14 percent to $3.06 after reporting Q4 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.25 percent to $71.86 while gold traded down 0.28 percent to $1,224.20.

Silver traded up 0.51 percent Friday to $14.68, while copper rose 0.45 to $2.8155.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.63 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.3 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.59 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.69 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.75 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.68 percent.

Economics

The import price index increased 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index declined to 99 for October, from a reading of 100.1.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak in Atlanta, Georgia at 12:30 p.m. ET.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak in Bali, Indonesia at 10:30 p.m. ET.