Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Deere Earnings Beat Views

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.41 percent to 20,747.99 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.59 percent to 6,090.72. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.59 percent to 2,379.58.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials sector was the top gainer in the US market on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included Vale SA (ADR) VALE, Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (ADR) SID, and Gerdau SA (ADR) GGB.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares rose by just 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Dominion Energy Inc D, down 1 percent, and PPL Corp PPL, down 1 percent.

Top Headline

Deere & Company DE reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.

Deere reported net income of $2.49 per share in the quarter on revenue of $8.29 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.68 per share.

Deere raised its equipment sales growth outlook for fiscal 2017 to 9 percent, versus its earlier forecast for 4 percent growth. The company now projects fiscal 2017 net income of around $2 billion, compared to previous forecast of $1.5 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Vince Holding Corp VNCE shares shot up 51 percent to $0.500 after the company reported the receipt of $30 million rights offering commitment letter.

Shares of Dynegy Inc. DYN got a boost, shooting up 23 percent to $8.96 following WSJ report of takeover talks with Vistra Energy Corp VST.

Penntex Midstream Partners LP PTXP shares were also up, gaining 20 percent to $19.87. Energy Transfer Partners LP ETP made a tender offer to purchase PennTex Midstream Partners for $20 per unit in cash.

Equities Trading DOWN

Foot Locker, Inc. FL shares dropped 16 percent to $59.30 after the company posted weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. HALO were down 6 percent to $13.30. Halozyme Therapeutics priced its 10 million share offering at $12.50 per share.

Goldman Sachs BDC Inc GSBD was down, falling around 4 percent to $22.09. Goldman Sachs BDC reported a 3.25 million share common stock offering.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.34 percent to $50.01 while gold traded up 0.01 percent to $1,252.90.

Silver traded up 0.84 percent Friday to $16.81, while copper rose 1.13 percent to $2.56.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.44 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index surged 1.03 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.87 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.17 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.46 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.35 percent.

Economics

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in San Francisco at 1:40 p.m. ET.