Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Hershey To Acquire Amplify Snack Brands For $12/Share

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.76 percent to 24,839.52 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.83 percent to 6,994.42. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.64 percent to 2,692.89.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the financial sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Wins Finance Holdings Inc WINS and Banco de Chile (ADR) BCH.

In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell 0.27 percent.


Top Headline

Hershey Co HSY announced plans to acquire Amplify Snack Brands Inc BETR in a transaction valued at $1.6 billion.

Hershey will pay $12 per share for Amplify, representing a 71.4 percent premium over the stock's closing price on Friday. The deal is projected to close next quarter.


Equities Trading UP

Longfin Corp LFIN shares shot up 79 percent to $39.32. Longfin shares surged 308.41 percent Friday after the company announced agreement to acquire Ziddu.com.

Shares of Amplify Snack Brands Inc BETR got a boost, shooting up 71 percent to $11.94. Hershey Co HSY announced plans to acquire Amplify Snack Brands for $12 per share in cash.

Vipshop Holdings Ltd - ADR VIPS shares were also up, gaining 45 percent to $12.20 following announcement of $863 million investment by JD.com and Tencent.


Equities Trading DOWN

Bovie Medical Corporation BVX shares dropped 6 percent to $2.81. Bovie Medical named Charles D. Goodwin as Chief Executive Officer and updates its 2017 forecast.

Shares of Aratana Therapeutics Inc PETX were down 7 percent to $5.34 after the company issued study results for AT-016. The company’s license partner responsible for development said study did not achieve protocol-defined efficacy success criteria.

National Holdings Corporation NHLD was down, falling around 9 percent to $2.44 after the company reported a comprehensive financing and debt restructuring transaction.


Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.45 percent to $57.56 while gold traded up 0.41 percent to $1,262.70.

Silver traded up 0.45 percent Monday to $16.135, while copper fell 0.29 percent to $3.1255.


Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 jumped 0.97 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.75 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.78 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 1.57 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.22 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.48 percent.

Economics

The NAHB housing market index climbed 5 points to a reading of 74 for December. However, economists were expecting a reading of 70 for December.

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

The Treasury will auction 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Morning Market Update
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