First Solar Jumps On Upbeat Results; AIG Shares Fall

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.03 percent to 15,555 while the NASDAQ declined 0.32 percent to 3,907. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.14 percent to 1,754.

Top Headline
Chevron (CVX) reported a 5.8 percent drop in its third-quarter earnings.

Chevron's quarterly profit fell to $4.95 billion, or $2.57 per share, from a year-ago profit of $5.25 billion, or $2.69 per share.

Its revenue rose 0.8 percent to $58.5 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $2.71 per share on revenue of $58.41 billion.

Equities Trading UP
First Solar (FSLR) shot up 14.92 percent to $57.81 after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results and lifted its full-year earnings forecast.

Shares of Office Depot (ODP) got a boost, shooting up 3.76 percent to $5.80 after the US Federal Trade Commission closed probe of proposed Office Depot/OfficeMax merger.

Southwestern Energy Co (SWN) was also up, gaining 1.72 percent to $37.86 after the company reported Q3 financial and operating results. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Ellie Mae (ELLI) were down 18.27 percent to $23.62 after the company reported a weaker-than-expected Q3 profit. Ellie Mae also signed a definitive agreement to buy MortgageCEO.

American International Group (AIG) shares tumbled 6.18 percent to $48.46 after the company reported a 17 percent rise in its third-quarter net income.

Bruker (BRKR) was down, falling 6.18 percent to $19.19 on Q3 results.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.27 percent to $95.16, while gold traded down 1.16 percent to $1,308.40.

Silver traded down 0.26 percent Friday to $21.81, while copper fell 0.06 percent to $3.30.

Eurozone
European shares were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.01 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.01 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.10 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.19 percent.

Economics
The final reading of Markit manufacturing PMI surged to 51.8 in October, versus a flash reading of 51.1.

The ISM manufacturing index rose to 56.40 in October, from a prior reading of 56.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 55.00.

BY Jake L'Ecuyer