Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; J C Penney Reports Weak Sales

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.13 percent to 20,893.18 while the NASDAQ declined 0.03 percent to 6,113.92. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.17 percent to 2,390.41.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Telecommunications services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included Allot Communications Ltd ALLT, PLDT Inc (ADR) PHI, and Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) VOD.

In trading on Friday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.38 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Sears Holdings Corp SHLD, down 9 percent, and Nordstrom, Inc. JWN, down 8 percent.

Top Headline

J C Penney Company Inc JCP reported mixed results for its first quarter on Friday.

JC Penney said it earned $0.06 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $2.7 billion (versus $2.8 billion a year ago). Wall Street analysts were expecting the retailer to lose $0.21 per share on revenue of $2.77 billion. Comparable store sales for the quarter fell 3.5 percent, yet net income improved by $116 million from a year ago to a net loss of $97 million per share.

Equities Trading UP

Trade Desk Inc TTD shares shot up 20 percent to $47.93 after the company reported a profit in its first quarter on Thursday. The company posted quarterly earnings of $4.9 million, or $0.11 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $1 million, or $4.45 per share.

Shares of Technical Communications Corporation TCCO got a boost, shooting up 36 percent to $3.30. Technical Communications reported quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $1.38 million.

Reliv International, Inc RELV shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $7.40. Reliv International reported Q1 earnings of $0.28 per share on sales of $12.77 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Capricor Therapeutics Inc CAPR shares dropped 56 percent to $1.33 after the company issued an update on Allstar trial. The company disclosed that Allstar trial is unlikely to achieve primary efficacy endpoint of change in infarct size in patients following heart attack.

Shares of Ardelyx Inc ARDX were down around 36 percent to $7.84. Ardelyx reported that its Phase 3 T3MPO-1 trial of Tenapanor in patients with IBS-C achieved primary endpoint.

Inpixon INPX was down, falling around 28 percent to $2.32. Inpixon reported a Q1 loss of $2.03 per share on sales of $13.5 million. B. Riley downgraded Inpixon from Buy to Neutral.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.29 percent to $47.97 while gold traded up 0.50 percent to $1,230.30.

Silver traded up 0.80 percent Friday to $16.395, while copper rose 0.52 percent to $2.521.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.06 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.01 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.37 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.15 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.11 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.33 percent.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 percent for April, versus a 0.3 percent decline in the previous month.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.4 percent for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent growth.

U.S. business inventories increased 0.2 percent for March, beating economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent gain.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 97.7 in May, versus a reading of 97.0 in April. Economists expected a reading of 97 for the month.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in a live television interview in Dublin, Ireland at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick T. Harker is set to speak in Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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