Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Gain On Jobs Data; VeriFone Earnings Beat Estimates

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.33 percent to 16,891.79 while the NASDAQ surged 0.37 percent to 4,311.89. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.28 percent to 1,945.97.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Friday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.49 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Petróleo Brasileiro SA PBR, up 4.8 percent, and JinkoSolar Holding Co JKS, up 3.7 percent.

Healthcare shares rose by just 0.07 percent in trading on Friday. Top decliners in the sector included Novavax NVAX, and ZIOPHARM Oncology ZIOP.

Top Headline

On Thursday, VeriFone Systems PAY reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

VeriFone posted a quarterly net loss of $23.9 million, or $0.22 per share, versus a year-ago net loss of $58.4 million, or $0.54 per share. On an adjusted basis, it earned $0.37 per share.

Its revenue climbed 9% to $466.4 million. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.32 per share on revenue of $443.4 million. For the current quarter, VeriFone expected revenue of $455 million to $460 million, versus analysts’ estimates of $453.8 million.

Equities Trading UP

GW Pharmaceuticals plc GWPH shares shot up 4.48 percent to $70.82 following announcement of the FDA Fast Track Designation for Epidiolex.

Shares of Angie's List ANGI got a boost, shooting up 9.69 percent to $11.08. Bank of America upgraded Angie's List from Neutral to Buy.

VeriFone Systems PAY shares were also up, gaining 6.68 percent to $36.08 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Hertz Global Holdings HTZ were 10.13 percent to $27.40. Hertz Global said it will amend 10-K to correct errors.

Novavax NVAX shares tumbled 8.18 percent to $4.15 after the company priced 25 million shares at $4.00 per share.

Diamond Foods DMND was down, falling 10.65 percent to $29.77 after the company reported downbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings. Diamond Foods posted its adjusted earnings of $0.11 per share on revenue of $190.9 million. Analysts were projecting earnings of $0.17 per share on revenue of $191.7 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.56 percent to $103.05, while gold traded up 0.25 percent to $1,256.40.

Silver traded up 0.12 percent Friday to $19.11, while copper fell 1.26 percent to $3.05.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today.

The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.50 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 1.67 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 1.19 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.29 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.69 percent while UK shares gained 0.41 percent.

Economics

The US economy added 217,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3%. However, economists were projecting an addition of 215,000 nonfarm jobs.

Data on consumer credit for April will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.