Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Janus Capital And Henderson Group Announce All-Stock Merger

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.31 percent to 18,251.83 while the NASDAQ declined 0.33 percent to 5,294.57. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.31 percent to 2,161.59.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, cyclical consumer goods & services shares slipped by just 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO, and Cabelas Inc CAB.

In trading on Monday, healthcare shares tumbled by 0.60 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. FOLD, down 4 percent, and Senomyx Inc. SNMX, down 5 percent.

Top Headline

Janus Capital Group Inc JNS and London-based Henderson Group announced their agreement to merge in an all-stock-deal. The merged entity would be known as "Janus Henderson Global Investors plc." The transaction is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2017.

The companies indicated that for every Janus share, 4.7190 freshly issued shares of Henderson would be allotted. As a result, while Janus shareholders would own 43 percent in the merged firm, Henderson would have the remaining 57 percent stake.

Equities Trading UP

VirnetX Holding Corporation VHC shares shot up 47 percent to $4.50 after the company confirmed a $302 million verdict against Apple Inc. AAPL.

Shares of Winnebago Industries, Inc. WGO got a boost, shooting up 18 percent to $27.77 after the company announced plans to acquire towable RV manufacturer Grand Design for in a deal valued at $500 million. The company also reported preliminary Q4 revenue of $263.3 million and earnings of $0.49 per share.

Janus Capital Group Inc JNS shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $16.32. Janus Capital and Henderson Group announced their agreement to merge in an all-stock-deal.

Equities Trading DOWN

TASER International, Inc. TASR shares dropped 11 percent to $25.53. TASER’s competitor, Vievue, has won the coveted NYPD camera contract worth $6 million. Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded the rating on Taser from Buy to Neutral.

Shares of Ryerson Holding Corp RYI were down 8 percent to $10.38 after the company issued Q3 guidance on Friday. Ryerson projected Q3 net income of $8 million to $12 million and revenue to be flat versus the second quarter.

Real Goods Solar, Inc. RGSE was down, falling around 18 percent to $3.11 after the company disclosed that all of its Series A 12.5% Mandatorily Convertible Preferred Stock has been converted into shares of Class A common stock.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.12 percent to $48.30 while gold traded down 0.05 percent to $1,316.50.

Silver traded down 0.46 percent Monday to $19.13, while copper fell 1.09 percent to $2.19.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.14 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.68 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.01 percent. Meanwhile the French CAC 40 declined 0.24 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.01 percent.

Economics

The Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.50 in September, versus a previous reading of 51.40. Economists projected a reading of 51.40.

The ISM manufacturing index increased to 51.50 in September, versus a prior reading of 49.40. Economists were expecting a reading of 50.30.

U.S. construction spending declined 0.70 percent for August, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent growth.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.