Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Applied Materials Falls On Weak Sales Forecast; Quotient Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.07 percent to 24,731.00 while the NASDAQ declined 0.27 percent to 7,362.62. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.19 percent to 2,715.03.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Friday afternoon, the industrial shares rose 0.64 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Deere & Company DE, up 7 percent, and FreightCar America, Inc. RAIL up 6 percent.

In trading on Friday, utilities shares fell 0.76 percent.

Top Headline

Deere & Company DE reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter.

Deere said it earned $3.14 per share in the first quarter on net sales from equipment operations of $9.747 billion versus Wall Street's estimate of $3.29 per share on revenue of $9.83 billion.

Deere projects Q3 equipment sales to rise 35 percent and FY18 equipment sales to increase 30 percent.

Equities Trading UP

Mannatech, Incorporated MTEX shares shot up 24 percent to $19.65 after the company reported commencement of modified Dutch auction cash tender for up to $16 million of common stock.

Shares of Quotient Limited QTNT got a boost, shooting up 21 percent to $5.66 following commencement of EU blood grouping field trial.

Shineco, Inc. TYHT shares were also up, gaining 16 percent to $1.9752 following Q3 results. Shineco posted Q3 earnings of $0.21 per share on sales of $13.3 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Agile Therapeutics, Inc. AGRX shares dropped 73 percent to $0.679 after the FDA announced significant concerns regarding the adhesion of Twirla.

Shares of Campbell Soup Company CPB were down 12 percent to $34.565. Campbell Soup reported upbeat Q3 earnings, but sales missed estimates. The company lowered its FY18 outlook and disclosed that its CEO abruptly stepped down.

Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT was down, falling around 9 percent to $48.97. Applied Materials reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, but issued weak sales outlook for the third quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.14 percent to a$71.39 while gold traded up 0.18 percent to $ 1,291.70.

Silver traded down 0.13 percent Friday to $16.46, while copper fell 0.76 to $3.0655.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.28 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.02 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.48 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX fell 0.28 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.13 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.12 percent.

Economics

The total number of active U.S. oil rigs was unchanged at 844 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.