Mid-Day Market Update: InterMune Surges On Announcement of Acquisition by Roche; Greif Shares Slide

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.64 percent to 17,110.26 while the NASDAQ surged 0.63 percent to 4,566.93. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.64 percent to 2,001.04.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from InterMune ITMN and RTI Surgical RTIX.

In trading on Monday, basic materials shares gained by just 0.17 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Greif GEF, down 5.8 percent, and Endeavour Silver EXK, off 3.2 percent.

Top Headline

Burger King Worldwide BKW is in talks to acquire Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons THI.

A potential deal would create the third-largest fast food chain in the world. The new company would be headquartered in Canada

Equities Trading UP

InterMune ITMN shares shot up 35.49 percent to $72.89 after Roche RHHBY announced its plans to acquire InterMune for $74.00 per share in cash.

Shares of Burger King Worldwide BKW got a boost, shooting up 19.01 percent to $32.26. Burger King is in talks to acquire Tim Hortons THI.

Tim Hortons THI shares were also up, gaining 19.68 percent to $75.21 following the confirmation of merger talks.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Qihoo 360 Technology Co QIHU were down 6.93 percent to $94.70 after the company reported Q2 results. Qihoo 360 reported Q2 adjusted EPADS of $0.50 on revenue of $317.90 million.

Greif GEF shares tumbled 5.73 percent to $47.42 after the company cut its FY14 earnings forecast.

Leju Holdings LEJU was down, falling 4.73 percent to $17.54 after surging around 36.2% in the previous month.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.12 percent to $93.54, while gold traded down 0.27 percent to $1,276.80.

Silver traded down 0.43 percent Monday to $19.38, while copper rose 0.29 percent to $3.23.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 1.10 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 1.81 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.83 percent and the French CAC 40 surged 2.10 percent.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to 0.39 in July, versus economists’ expectations for a reading of 0.20.

The preliminary reading of the Markit services PMI fell to 58.50 in August, versus a prior reading of 60.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 58.00.

Sales of new US homes declined 2.4% to an annual rate of 412,000 in July. However, economists were expecting a sales rate of 430,000 in July.

The Dallas Fed general business activity index fell to 7.10 in August, versus a prior reading of 12.70. However, economists were expecting a reading of 12.80.