Benzinga Mid-Morning Market Update

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.42 percent to 13,401.34 while the NASDAQ rose 0.71 percent to 3,073.51. The S&P also rose, increasing 0.63 percent to 1,441.56.

Clearwire

surged 34.23 percent to $1.75 in early trading following news of a possible Sprint Acquisition. Sprint Nextel

also got a boost, trading up 13.49 percent to $5.72 after word got out that Japan's Softbank was in advanced acquisition talks with the company. Shares Cooper Tire & Rubber

rallied 7.38 percent to $20.07 in early trading Thursday after a rumor surfaced that the company would be acquired by Apollo Tyres for an estimated $600-800 million.

MetroPCS

fell 5.56 percent to $11.37 after news that Sprint would not be making a bid for the company. Safeway

was also down, dropping 5.10 percent to $15.46 after the company posted an earnings miss before the market opening Thursday. Shares of Stillwater Mining

took a hit as well, falling 7.01 percent to $11.27 after the company announced a $300 million offering of senior notes after the market opening Thursday.

In commodity news, Oil traded down 0.08 percent to $92.32, while Gold traded down 0.11 percent to $1,763.00. Silver traded up 0.06 percent Wednesday Morning to $34.05.

The Euro zone produced more chatter today, as Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban spoke about the country's coming economic turn around, and possible membership in the EU. Spain's Saenz pushed back at the EU, saying that if Spain knew what aid was available, the country could better decide if and when to request it, while Germany's Angela Merkel made comments stating that the coming EU summit will be focused on regaining trust in the Euro area.

In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 339 thousand, below the expected 370 thousand and the previous figure of 369 thousand. Continuing jobless claims were posted at 3.273 million, slightly below the expected 3.275 million and the previously reported 3.288 thousand. The import price index month over month was also reported, coming in at 1.1 percent, above the expected 0.7 percent, and equal to the prior number, while the import price index year over year was reported at -0.6 percent, better than the estimated -1.3 percent, and above the previous figure of -1.9 percent. Trade balance came in at -$44.2 billion, slightly lower than the estimated $44 billion and the prior figure of -$42.5 billion. The Bloomberg consumer comfort index came in at -38.5, below the previously reported -36.9.