Credit: Shutterstock photoUS stocks inched higher in volatile trading around midday on Friday as investors prepared to wrap up a roller-coaster week.
In economic news, the December Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index fell 1.0 point to 65.4, better than forecast, after November's 8 point bounce to 66.4.
The November pending home sales index declined 0.7% to 101.4, weaker than the 1.5% increase expected, and extending October's 2.6% drop to 102.1.
In Europe, equities jumped higher despite the volatility in New York, with miners and technology companies leading gains in the region's main benchmark, the Stoxx Europe 600 index.
Crude oil is up 1.73% to $45.39 per barrel. Natural gas is down 5.37% to $3.173 per 1 million BTU. Gold is down 0.04% to $1,280.60 an ounce, while silver is up 0.46% to $15.38 an ounce. Copper is up 0.90% to $2.692 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund is down 0.52% to $9.57 with the United States Natural Gas Fund is down 4.75% to $27.49. Among precious-metal funds, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is down 1.48% to $20.66, while SPDR Gold Shares is up 0.32% to $120.96. The iShares Silver Trust is up 0.38% to $14.36.
Here's where the markets stand at midday:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index is up 0.24% to 11,312.28
Dow Jones Industrial Index is up 0.21% to 23,187.64
S&P 500 is up 0.18% to 2,493.39
Nasdaq Composite Index is up 0.15% to 6,589.19
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 is up 2.27% to 6,733.97
DAX is up 1.71% to 10,588.96
CAC 40 is up 1.74% to 4,678.74
Nikkei 225 is down 0.31% to 20,014.77
Hang Seng Index up 0.10% to 25,504.20
Shanghai China Composite Index is up 0.44% to 2,493.90
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index is up 0.40% to 9,370.83
NYSE Financial Sector Index is up 0.27% to 6,933.62
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index is up 0.30% to 14,980.06
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) VTVT (+166.28%) Exercises right to compel MacAndrews & Forbes Group to buy 0.8 million shares of the company at a price of $1.84 per share
(+) WFT (+33.44%) Offers to exchange up to $600 million of 9.875% senior notes due 2025
(+) OPK (+30.04%) To pay fines to settle SEC action
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) NFLX (-0.38%) Announces executive pay; Releases interactive episode of "Black Mirror"
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
