In U.S. corporate news, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) drew most of the attention Friday, with its stock down 0.4% even as its iPhone 5S and 5C drew long lines at stores across 10 countries today.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares rose slightly after Cowen Research upgraded the social networking company to an outperform rating.
Twitter, meanwhile, was buzzing on a Reuters report that said the company's IPO is expected to raise over $1 billion, and will take place before Thanksgiving. Speaking of IPOs, shares of FireEye (NASDAQ:FEYE) and Rocket Fuel (NASDAQ:FUEL) more than doubled in their listing debut.
Elsewhere, Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI), a restaurant operator, sank over 6% after posting weaker-than-expected profit and revenue in the fiscal first quarter. Darden said it had identified areas where it can make "thoughtful but significant" spending cuts.
AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE:AKS) dived over 7% after projecting a third-quarter loss from 22 cents to 27 cents a share, which includes a 9-cent loss related to a furnace outage in Middletown, Ohio.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NASDAQ:GT), the largest U.S. tiremaker, surged to its highest price in more than five years after the Akron, Ohio-based company announced a $100 million stock buyback program, and reinstated a dividend of 5 cents a share.
Investors also prepared as Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) will no longer be part of the Dow 30 when trading begins Monday. They will be replaced by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE).
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