Spreadtrum Rises On Merger Announcement, UPS Falls

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.06 percent to 15,452.19 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.02 percent to 3,577.74. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.14 percent to 1,672.67.

Top Headline
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) reported a rise in its second-quarter profit.

JPMorgan's quarterly profit surged to $6.5 billion, or $1.60 per share, from $4.9 billion, or $1.21 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Its total net revenue climbed to $25.21 billion from $22.18 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $1.44 per share on revenue of $24.97 billion. JPMorgan's mortgage originations increased 12% to $49 billion versus the previous quarter.

Equities Trading UP
WebMD Health (WBMD) shot up 25.56 percent to $33.85 after the company raised its forecast for the year.

Shares of Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD) got a boost, shooting up 12.59 percent to $29.78 after the company agreed to be bought by Tsinghua Holdings for $1.78 billion.

athenahealth (ATHN) was also up, gaining 16.20 percent to $106.40 after the company entered into an agreement with Ascension.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of United Parcel Service (UPS) were down 5.52 percent to $86.40 after the company issued Q2 earnings warning.

Dollar General (DG) was down, falling 3.45 percent to $53.73. Analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on shares of Dollar General with a “neutral” rating.

Domtar (UFS) shares tumbled 4.58 percent to $69.96 after the company issued downbeat Q2 revenue view.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.51 percent to $105.44, while gold traded down 0.09 percent to $1,278.80.

Silver traded down 0.58 percent Friday to $19.84, while copper fell 0.71 percent to $3.16.

Eurozone
European shares were mixed as peripheral indexes fell on Portuguese fears. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 2.32 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index declined 1.57 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX jumped 0.66 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.36 percent while U.K. shares surged 0.02 percent.

Economics
US wholesale prices rose 0.8% in June, while core wholesale prices increased 0.2% in the month, according to the Labor Department. However, economists were expecting a 0.5% gain in the overall PPI and a 0.1% rise in core PPI.

The preliminary reading of Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index surged to 83.90 in July, versus a final reading of 84.10 in June. However, economists were expecting a reading of 84.70 in the month.

Fed members Bullard, Plosser, and Williams are set to speak.

BY Jake L'Ecuyer