Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Plug Rises on Secondary Pricing as Markets Remain Mixed Following Jobs Number

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.12 percent to 16,424.70 while the NASDAQ gained 0.28 percent to 4,167.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.15 percent to 1,840.69.

Top Headline
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported a loss in the fourth quarter on Thursday.

Alcoa posted a quarterly loss of $2.34 billion, or $2.19 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $242 million, or $0.21 per share. Excluding one-time items, it earned $0.04 per share.

Its revenue dropped 5% to $5.59 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.06 per share on revenue of $5.36 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ICPT) got a boost, shooting up 62.40 percent to $452.02. Citigroup lifted the price target on the stock from $60.00 to $400.00, while Bank of America raised the price target from $81.00 to $872.00.

Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) gained 10.24 percent to $3.66 on Friday's session after the company priced a 10 million share secondary offering at $3 per share, apparently pleasing the street.

Francesca's Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) was also up, gaining 23.78 percent to $22.36 after the company narrowed its Q4 revenue forecast to $93 million to $95 million from $90 million to $95 million. It projects earnings of $0.27 to $0.29 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $0.25 to $0.29 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD) were down 15.26 percent to $6.00 after the company announced a tentative date of the FDA advisory committee review of AFREZZA.

Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ: BV) tumbled 15.09 percent to $7.01 as the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California ruled against the company's acquisition of PowerReviews.

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) was down, falling 13.39 percent to $36.87 after the company reported a 7.4% drop in same-store sales at Kmart and Sears for the nine-week period ended January 6. The department store expected to post a loss for the fourth quarter and full year.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.23 percent to $92.79, while gold traded up 1.22 percent to $1,244.00.

Silver traded up 2.32 percent Friday to $20.14, while copper rose 1.33 percent to $3.34.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.49 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.24 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.52 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.49 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.78 percent.

Economics
The U.S. economy added 74,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate declined to 6.7% from 7.0%. However, economists were projecting an addition of 197,000 jobs and unemployment rate to remain steady at 7.0% in the month.

U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.50% in November, versus economists' expectations for a 0.40% gain. However, wholesale sales climbed 1% in the month.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Futures Commodities Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

(c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Most Popular UPDATE: YRCW Teamsters Reject Extending, Modifying Current Restructuring Agreement Probability of Time Warner and Charter Deal Gains According to Macquarie Analyst Market Wrap For January 9: All Eyes on Tomorrow's Job Report Fifth & Pacific Announces Company Name Change, Management Succession Bank of America Reiterates on Intercept Pharmaceuticals Benzinga's Top #PreMarket Gainers Related Articles (AA + BV) Market Wrap For January 10: Job Growth Weak, But Unemployment Falls Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Plug Rises on Secondary Pricing as Markets Remain Mixed Following Jobs Number Mid-Day Market Update: Abercrombie & Fitch Surges On Strong Outlook; Sears Shares Slip Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Drop; Alcoa Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates Benzinga's Top #PreMarket Losers #PreMarket Primer: Friday, January 10: Jobs Friday Around the Web, We're Loving... Lightspeed Trading Presents: Thunder and Tubleweeds: Trading Techniques for the New Market Enviroment Pope Francis Rips 'Trickle-Down' Economics Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Wynn, MGM, Other Casino Giants Vying For U.S. Turf What Should You Know About AMZN? View the discussion thread. Partner Network