Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Arby's To Merge With Buffalo Wild Wings

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.36 percent to 23,665.58 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.14 percent to 6,887.97. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.29 percent to 2,608.96.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) RDS and Southwestern Energy Company SWN.

In trading on Tuesday, basic materials shares fell 0.02 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Valhi, Inc. VHI, down 1.5 percent, and Endeavour Silver Corp EXK down 2 percent.

Top Headline

Roark Capital, a private equity investment firm that owns various restaurant chains including Auntie Anne's, CKE Restaurants, Moe's Southwest Grill, among others, offered to buy Buffalo Wild Wings for around $150 per share earlier in November. On Tuesday, Buffalo Wild Wings accepted a revised offer of $157 per share, which values the chicken wing chain just shy of $3 billion.

Buffalo Wild Wings will operate as a privately-held subsidiary of Arby's Restaurant Group and operate as an independent brand.

The price tag implies a premium of around 38 percent to Buffalo Wild Wings' 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of November 13, the last trading day prior to Roark Capital's public approach.

Equities Trading UP

PhaseRx Inc PZRX shares shot up 115 percent to $1.42 after the company disclosed that it has received a position opinion for orphan drug designation for PRX-ASL from the EMA.

Shares of Apollo Endosurgery Inc APEN got a boost, shooting up 59 percent to $6.44 after the company disclosed that it has received FDA clearance for OverStitch Sx.

Christopher & Banks Corporation CBK shares were also up, gaining 15 percent to $1.39. Christopher & Banks reported Q3 loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $94.47 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Auris Medical Holding AG EARS shares dropped 50 percent to $0.410. Auris Medical disclosed that its HEALOS Phase 3 trial did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint. The company also reported Q3 loss of CHF $0.14 per share.

Shares of Marathon Patent Group Inc MARA were down 36 percent to $4.16 after climbing 9.41 percent on Monday.

Momo Inc (ADR) MOMO was down, falling around 16 percent to $26.03 after the company reported Q3 results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.74 percent to $57.68 while gold traded up 0.01 percent to $1,299.00.

Silver traded up 0.27 percent Monday to $17.165, while copper fell 1.49 percent to $3.1105.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.41 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.56 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 0.48 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.26 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.44 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.68 percent.

Economics

The U.S. trade deficit in goods rose 6.5 percent to $68.3 billion in October. However, economists were expecting a $65 billion deficit. Wholesale inventories dropped 0.40 percent for October.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index dropped 0.2 percent during the first four weeks of November versus October.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.4 percent growth.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 129.50 for November, versus previous reading of 125.90. However, economists were projecting a reading of 124.00.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index surged to 30.00 in November, versus prior reading of 12.00. Economists estimated a reading of 14.00.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.