Friday Closing Bell: Markets Wobble But Hold Early Gains

November 1, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher Friday morning and got a bit more of a bump after PMI data from the Institute for Supply Management came in better than expected following the worst PMI reading of the year from Markit. Automakers posted October U.S. sales this morning that suggest 1.2 million new cars were purchased last month. A strengthening dollar continues to weigh down commodities prices.

European and Latin American markets closed mostly lower today, while Asian markets closed mixed.

Monday’s calendar includes speeches by Fed Governor Jerome Powell and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and the following scheduled data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Here are the closing bell levels for Friday:

• S&P500 1761.65 (+5.10; +0.29%)
• DJIA 15615.55 (+69.8; +0.45%)
• NASDAQ 3922.04 (+2.34; +0.06%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.623% (-0.53125)
• Gold $1,313.20 (-10.50; -0.8%) and settled down nearly 3% for the week
• WTI Crude oil $94.61 (-1.77; -1.8%) and settled down 3.3% for the week
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3489 (-0.0096; -0.71%)

Big Earnings Movers: First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is up 17.4% at $59.07 after crushing estimates after-hours on Thursday. American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is down 6.5% at $48.28 after an earnings decline. Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: KOG) is down 4.9% at $12.38. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is down 1.6% at $118.03 after reporting disappointing results.

Stocks on the Move: The Container Store Group Inc. (NYSE: TCS) is up 101.2% at $36.19 after a massively popular IPO. Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd. (NASDAQ: QUNR) is up 89.8% at $28.47 following another big IPO today. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down 7.1% at $18.00 on a secondary stock offering.

In all, 98 NYSE stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 21 stocks posted new lows.