Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 1.37 percent to 25,786.68 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.38 percent to 7,455.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.84 percent to 2,768.70.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Friday, the financial shares climbed 1.9 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Civista Bancshares Inc CIVB 8.99% up 9 percent, and Radian Group Inc. RDN 8.38% up 8 percent.
In trading on Friday, utilities shares rose by just 0.1 percent.
Top Headline
Deere & Company DE 2.07% reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.
First-quarter earnings came in at $1.54 per share, versus estimates of $1.76 per share. Sales came in at $6.94 billion, versus estimates of $6.81 billion. The company cited higher material costs and customer tariff concern as weaknesses during the quarter.
Deere expects FY19 equipment sales to rise 7 percent year over year.
Equities Trading UP
Sky Solar Holdings Ltd SKYS 150.35% shares got a boost, shooting up 138 percent to $1.34 after Hudson Solar offered to resolve a default issue by either purchasing equity in certain Sky Solar projects for $240 million or acquiring the company for $2.15-$2.25 per share.
Shares of SAExploration Holdings, Inc. SAEX 23.87% shot up 25 percent to $4.84 after Morgan Stanley holdings raised stake in the company, from 67.3K shares to 309.04K shares.
TriNet Group, Inc. TNET 25.79% shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $62.55 after the company beat Q4 earnings estimates.
Equities Trading DOWN
Marin Software Incorporated MRIN 26.82% shares dropped 27 percent to $4.83 after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of $(0.06), up from $(0.92) year-over-year. Sales came in at $15.825 million, down from $17.692 million year-over-year.
Shares of Newell Brands Inc. NWL 19.92% were down 19 percent to $17.50 after the company reported downbeat Q4 sales and issued weak sales outlook.
TrueCar, Inc. TRUE 22.9% was down, falling around 23 percent to $7.86 after the company missed Q4 earnings estimates and issued weak Q1 guidance.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.4 percent to $55.71 while gold traded up 0.4 percent to $1,319.10.
Silver traded up 0.46 percent Friday to $15.60, while copper rose 0.56 percent to $2.7895.
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.41 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.91 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 1.9 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.89 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.79 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.55 percent.
Economics
The Empire State manufacturing index increased 4.9 points to a reading of 8.8 in February. However, economists were expecting a reading of 7.6.
The import price index declined 0.5 percent in January, versus a drop of 1 percent in December. The export price index fell 0.60 percent for January.
U.S. industrial production fell 0.6 percent for January, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent rise.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index increased to 95.5 for February, versus a reading of 91.2 in January.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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