Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Tuniu Gains After Announcing $100M Share Repurchase Program; Aradigm Shares Slide


Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.72 percent to 25,757.70 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.51 percent to 7,248.81. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.49 percent to 2,780.97.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Friday afternoon, the technology sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Synaptics, Incorporated SYNA 12.37% and 3D Systems Corporation DDD 9.08%.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 0.06 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector includedAmerican Water Works Company Inc AWK 4.76%, down 4 percent, and Aqua America Inc WTR 3.46% down 3 percent.

Top Headline

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM 1.22% reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

JPMorgan said it earned $1.76 per share in the quarter on revenue of $25.45 billion which exceeded Wall Street's expectations for $1.69 per share and $25.15 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Performant Financial Corp PFMT 24.2% shares shot up 31 percent to $2.54 after the company disclosed that it has been awarded student loan recovery contract from the U. S. Department of Education. Compass Point upgraded Performant Financial from Neutral to Buy.

Shares of Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. LBRT got a boost, shooting up 28 percent to $21.7925. Liberty Oilfield Services priced its 12.7 million share IPO at $17 per share.

Tuniu Corp TOUR 11.7% shares were also up, gaining 13 percent to $8.57. Tuniu reported a $100 million share repurchase program and reported the promotion of Mr. Shihong Chen from Vice President to Chief Technology Officer, effective immediately.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aradigm Corporation ARDM 34.14% shares dropped 34 percent to $2.27 after the company disclosed that the FDA Advisory Committee panel voted 12-3 against recommendation for Linhaliq. Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded Aradigm from Buy to Neutral.

Shares of AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. AQB 37.45% were down 38 percent to $3.01 after the company reported a $12 million underwritten public offering.

Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc CNCE 28.14% was down, falling around 26 percent to $20.48 despite the earlier FDA grant of Fast Track Designation for CTP-543. Mizuho downgraded shares to Neutral citing the Patent Board decision not to grant the company a Post Grant Review in litigation with Incyte over CTP-543.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.49 percent to $64.11 while gold traded up 0.70 percent to $1,331.70.

Silver traded up 0.82 percent Friday to $17.105, while copper fell 0.49 percent to $3.217.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.31 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.26 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.53 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.32 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.52 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.20 percent.

Economics

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

The consumer price index gained 0.1 percent in December, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent rise.

U.S. business inventories gained 0.4 percent for November, versus economists’ estimates of a 0.3 percent growth

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

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren will speak in La Jolla, California at 4:15 p.m. ET.

Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Recommended Content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

USD/JPY pops and drops on BoJ's expected hold

USD/JPY pops and drops on BoJ's expected hold

USD/JPY  reverses a knee-jerk spike to 142.80 and returns to the red below 142.50 after the Bank of Japan announced on Friday that it maintained the short-term rate target in the range of 0.15%-0.25%. The decision aligned with the market expectations. Governor Ueda's presser eyed. 

USD/JPY News
AUD/USD bears attack 0.6800 amid PBOC's status-quo, cautious mood

AUD/USD bears attack 0.6800 amid PBOC's status-quo, cautious mood

AUD/USD attacks 0.6800 in Friday's Asian trading, extending its gradual retreat after the PBOC unexpectedly left mortgage lending rates unchanged in September. A cautious market mood also adds to the weight on the Aussie. Fedspeak eyed. 

AUD/USD News
Gold consolidates near record high, bullish potential seems intact

Gold consolidates near record high, bullish potential seems intact

Gold price regained positive traction on Thursday and rallied back closer to the all-time peak touched the previous day in reaction to the Federal Reserve's decision to start the policy easing cycle with an oversized rate cut.

Gold News
Ethereum rallies over 6% following decision to split Pectra upgrade into two phases

Ethereum rallies over 6% following decision to split Pectra upgrade into two phases

In its Consensus Layer Call on Thursday, Ethereum developers decided to split the upcoming Pectra upgrade into two batches. The decision follows concerns about potential risks in shipping the previously approved series of Ethereum improvement proposals.

Read more
Bank of Japan set to keep rates on hold after July’s hike shocked markets

Bank of Japan set to keep rates on hold after July’s hike shocked markets

The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its short-term interest rate target between 0.15% and 0.25% on Friday, following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy review. The decision is set to be announced during the early Asian session. 

Read more
Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know

Moneta Markets review 2024: All you need to know

VERIFIED In this review, the FXStreet team provides an independent and thorough analysis based on direct testing and real experiences with Moneta Markets – an excellent broker for novice to intermediate forex traders who want to broaden their knowledge base.

Read More

Majors

Cryptocurrencies

Signatures