Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up Over 3%; Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Shares Plunge

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.60 percent to 24,427.94 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.01 percent to 7,562.19. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.38 percent to 2,733.46.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the energy shares surged 2.02 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Seadrill Limited SDRL up 13 percent, and Pioneer Energy Services Corp. PES up 11 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, health care shares rose by just 0.3 percent.


Top Headline

Conagra Brands Inc CAG confirmed Wednesday morning it has reached an agreement to acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc PF for $8.1 billion, or $10.9 billion including debt.

Conagra, the parent company of multiple food brands including Pam cooking spray and Hebrew National hot dogs, will pay Pinnacle shareholders $43.11 per share in cash plus 0.6494 shares of Conagra common stock for each share of Pinnacle Foods held. The deal implies a value of $68 per Pinnacle Foods share, which is a slight premium to Tuesday's closing price of $67.86.

 

Equities Trading UP

Cara Therapeutics, Inc. CARA shares shot up 14 percent to $18.7925 after management reported positive top-line data for a drug candidate. A Phase 2/3 trial of intravenous CR845 in abdominal surgery patients achieved primary endpoints for pain relief and secondary endpoints for nausea and vomiting reduction.

Shares of Galectin Therapeutics, Inc. GALT got a boost, shooting up 14 percent to $7.11 after the company disclosed that it has received a patent for GR-MD-02 for the method and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. RKDA shares were also up, gaining 11 percent to $8.63 after the company and Farmer's Business Network announced partnership for Arcadia's GoodWheat.


Equities Trading DOWN

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AQXP shares dropped 84 percent to $2.4901 following news that AQX-1125 trial failed to meet primary endpoint.

Shares of Summit Therapeutics plc SMMT were down 81 percent to $2.43 after the company disclosed that its PhaseOut Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy failed to meet primary endpoint.

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. PTIE was down, falling around 70 percent to $2.5801 after the company confirmed a 14-3 vote against approval for REMOXY by a FDA panel.

 

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 3.22 percent to $72.80 while gold traded down 0.29 percent to $1,256.20.

Silver traded down 0.58 percent Wednesday to $16.155, while copper fell 0.25 to $3.008.



Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.72 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.22 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.65 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.93 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.87 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.11 percent.

Economics

U.S. durable goods orders dropped 0.6 percent for May.

The trade deficit in goods shrank 3.7 percent to $64.8 billion in May. However, economists were expecting a $69.2 billion deficit..

The pending home sales index fell 0.5 percent to a reading of 105.9 for May.

The Treasury is set to auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

 

Posted In: NewsEurozoneCommoditiesGlobalIntraday UpdateMarketsMid-Day Market Update
We simplify the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...