Friday Closing Bell: Markets Ignore Tepid Data to Close Higher

September 13, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher Friday morning after mixed reports on the retail sales and producer prices. The preliminary reading on September consumer sentiment came in well below the August reading and lower than expected . That drove a sharp dip in equity prices, but investors soldiered on to post gains on all three major indexes.

Asian and European markets closed mixed again today, while Latin American markets closed higher.

Monday’s calendar includes the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
• 9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
• 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Here are the closing bell levels for Friday:

• S&P500 1,687.99 (+4.57; +0.27%)
• DJIA 15,376.06 (+75.42; +0.49%)
• NASDAQ 3,722.18 (+6.22; +0.17%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.892% (+0.15625)
• Gold $1,308.60 (-22.00; -1.7%), down 5.6% for the week
• WTI Crude oil $108.21 (-0.39; -0.4%), down 2.1% for the week
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3301 (+0.0002; +0.01%)

Big Earnings Movers: Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) is up 17.3% at $117.49, after posting a new 52-week high of $118.27 today. United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) is up 12.9% at $67.72 after posting a new 52-week high of $69.35 earlier.

Stocks on the move: Galena Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GALE) is down 15.4% at $1.93 after pricing a secondary offering of 17.5 million units at $2.00. Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is up 6.1% at $28.21, after an analyst’s upgrade which sent shares to a new 52-week high of $28.88 earlier. Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) is down 18.2% at $4.08.

In all, 75 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 53 stocks posted new lows.