US Stocks Turn Higher; Quiksilver Shares Surge On Upbeat Earnings

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.21 percent to 14,968.35 while the NASDAQ surged 0.21 percent to 3,666.32. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.31 percent to 1,660.23.

Top Headline
Smithfield Foods (SFD) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit.

Smithfield's quarterly profit dropped to $39.5 million, from $61.7 million, in the year-earlier period. Its earnings per share fell to $0.27 from $0.40.

Its revenue climbed to $3.4 billion from $3.1 billion. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.47 per share.

Equities Trading UP
Quiksilver (ZQK) shot up 31.58 percent to $6.84 after the company reported upbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings.

Shares of VeriFone Systems (PAY) got a boost, shooting up 10.96 percent to $22.99 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results.

Finisar (FNSR) was also up, gaining 2.23 percent to $23.35 after the company issued strong Q2 outlook.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Mattress Firm Holding (MFRM) were down 16.14 percent to $34.96 after the company reported downbeat second-quarter results and lowered its forecast.

MannKind (MNKD) shares tumbled 6.03 percent to $5.92 after analysts at Bank of America downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform.

Smith & Wesson Holding (SWHC) was down, falling 8.28 percent to $10.53 after the company issued a downbeat Q2 forecast.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 1.63 percent to $110.14, while gold traded up 1.06 percent to $1,387.60.

Silver traded up 2.58 percent Friday to $23.86, while copper rose 0.48 percent to $3.26.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.23 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 1.21 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.49 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.06 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.23 percent.

Economics
The US economy added 169,000 jobs in August, while the country's unemployment rate declined to 7.3% from 7.4%. Economists were expecting a 173,000 gain in jobs in August.

BY Jake L'Ecuyer