Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Crude Oil Down 2%; Neff Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.64 percent to 21,998.70 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.31 percent to 6,338.26. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.00 percent to 2,465.82.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday afternoon, the technology shares climbed by 1.33 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Internap Corp INAP, up 8 percent, and Bitauto Hldg Ltd (ADR) BITA, up 7 percent.

In trading on Monday, energy shares fell by 0.11 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included PrimeEnergy Corporation PNRG, down 6 percent, and Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. ANW, down 5 percent.

Top Headline

VF Corp VFC announced plans to acquire Williamson-Dickie for $820 million in cash and raised its FY17 guidance.

The deal is expected to complete early in the fourth quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd. FRSX shares shot up 39 percent to $6.49. Chardan Capital initiated coverage on Foresight Autonomous with a Buy rating and a $15.00 price target.

Shares of CEL-SCI Corporation CVM got a boost, shooting up 29 percent to $2.97 as the company disclosed that Phase 3 head & neck cancer trial's clinical hold has been removed by the FDA.

Neff Corp NEFF shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $25.90 as the company reported that it has received a $25 per share acquisition offer from a 'strategic bidder.'

Equities Trading DOWN

Sorl Auto Parts, Inc. SORL shares dropped 19 percent to $5.63 after the company reported weak Q2 results.

Shares of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc ZYNE were down 11 percent to $6.24 after the company disclosed that its Phase 2 STOP trial did not meet its primary endpoint. However, the company trial did meet some secondary endpoints.

Repros Therapeutics Inc RPRX was down, falling around 12 percent to $0.307. Repros Therapeutics reported a Q2 loss of $0.08 per share on sales of $7,000.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.01 percent to $47.84 while gold traded down 0.29 percent to $1,290.20.

Silver traded up 0.29 percent Monday to $17.12, while copper fell 0.26 percent to $2.9045.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.08 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.73 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 1.72 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.26 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 1.20 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.60 percent.

Economics

On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.