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Shares of Pier 1 Imports Inc. soared 13% in afternoon trade Friday, as this week’s breakout rally above a key technical level put them on track to kick off a new bull market. The home furnishings retailer’s stock has now run up 27% since closing on Aug. 17 at what was then an 11-month low of $4.01. Many chart watchers define a bull market as rally of at least 20% off a bear-market low. The stock had been steadily climbing since Aug. 17, but the rally accelerated on Sept. 12–it surged 8.0%–as it broke above the 50-day moving average (MA). Many view the 50-day MA as a dividing line between short-term uptrends and downtrends. After the first close above the 50-day MA since April, the stock pulled back slightly, but stayed above that line, to confirm that previous resistance had morphed into support. The company, which hasn’t released any news since Sept. 6, when it said fiscal second-quarter results would be released after the Sept. 27 close, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stock was still down 6.8% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 1.0% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 2.7%.

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Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil dropped by 7 to 749 this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, fell by 8 to 936, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices showed little reaction, with October West Texas Intermediate crude down 20 cents, or 0.4%, from Thursday at $49.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, nearly unchanged from levels seen before the data.

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Shares of Equifax Inc. dropped 4.3% in midday trade Friday, extending their recent plunge to a 2 1/2-year low, after Morgan Stanley said there was a risk that prices could fall to nearly half their current value in the aftermath of last week’s massive data breach. Analyst Toni Kaplan cut the “base case” price target on the credit-reporting company’s stock to $127, which is 37% above current levels, from $140, citing increased breach-related expenses from free offerings given higher-than-expected signups and a sharp reduction in direct-to-consumer-related revenue. But Kaplan cut the “bear case” target to $50, which is 46% below current levels, and a price the shares haven’t seen since November 2012, in light of risks of greater impairment to the consumer solutions business, potential for breach-related weakness to bleed into other businesses, increased regulation and higher-than-anticipated fees. The stock, which has plummeted 35% since the breach was unveiled after the Sept. 7 close, has now lost 21.8% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.6%.

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The airline sector took a hit Friday, after J.P. Morgan downgraded some key players on concerns that rising fuel prices and continued pricing weakness make current earnings expectations unachievable. Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped 3.0%, Spirit Airlines Inc. fell 2.4% and American Airlines Group Inc. shed 0.8%, after analyst Jamie Baker downgraded all three air carriers to neutral from overweight. Elsewhere, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. lost 2.7% and Delta Air Lines Inc. eased 0.2%. Bucking the trend, Southwest Airlines Co.’s stock , inched up less than 0.1%, after Baker upgraded the carrier to overweight from neutral, saying the recent selloff–down 15% over the past two months–makes the risk-versus-reward profile attractive for investors. JetBlue Airways Corp.’s stock tacked on 0.1%, after Baker raised his price target to $29 from $26, citing easier unit revenue comparisons and moderated capacity growth. The NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 0.7%. The sector tracker has shed 6.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.

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Semiconductor stocks rallied on Friday, with the sector climbing in its fifth straight daily advance and on track for its best week since July. The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF added 1.7% to $155.50, putting it on track for a record close and within points of an intraday record hit in June. Thus far this year, the fund is up nearly 27%, with 4.6% of that coming this week. Among the fund’s components, all but one were in positive territory on Friday, with Nvidia Corp. the biggest percentage gainer, up 5.2% after Evercore ISI raised its price target on the company to $250 from $180. Among others, ON Semiconductor Corp rose 3.1% while Advanced Micro Devices was up 2.9%.

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Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. said it’s not currently in talks with Amazon.com Inc. about being bought out, after the Netherlands-based online pharmacy’s stock rose by as much as 31% on Friday. “Regarding current market rumors about a potential takeover of Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. by Amazon, Shop Apotheke clarifies that currently there are no talks or negotiations with Amazon,” the Dutch company said in a statement. Shares were recently 11% higher.

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U.S. stock-market indexes opened nearly unchanged as investors remained cautious in the wake of North Korea firing another missile over Japan and softer-than-expected economic data. Monthly retail sales fell unexpectedly last month. All three main indexes were on track to book solid gains over the week, however. The S&P 500 opened flat at 2,495. The Nasdaq Composite index was unchanged at 6,430. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28 points, or 0.1%, to 22,233 at the open. Among the worst performers on Wall Street, Equifax continued to decline, dropping more than 2%.

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Nucor Corp.’s stock dropped 1.0% in premarket trade Friday, after the steel maker lowered its profit outlook for the third quarter, citing continued import pressure and unplanned outages, as well as “tepid” demand in plate end use markets. The company expects earnings per share for the current quarter of 70 cents to 80 cents, down from $1.00 in the second quarter and below previous guidance that EPS was expected to be “similar” to the first half of the year. The FactSet EPS consensus was $1.04. Nucor said finished steel imports, which accounts for about a 28% share of the U.S. market, has not allowed pricing to keep pace with increasing raw material costs. The company said Nucor Steel Louisiana experienced an unplanned production halt in late July to make repairs to its materials handling systems, and isn’t expected to resume operation until early October. The stock had shed 1.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 had gained 2.6%.

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