Dow Dips Over 100 Points; TriMas Shares Decline On Lowered Forecast

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.61 percent to 17,174.24 while the NASDAQ dropped 1.22 percent to 4,523.85. The S&P also fell, declining 0.82 percent to 1,994.01.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Monday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped by just 0.33 percent. Top gainers in the sector included The Clorox Company CLX, up 6.9 percent, and Nature's Sunshine Products NATR, up 5.3 percent.

Basic materials sector was the top decliner on Monday. Top losers in the sector included TriMas TRS, down 9.9 percent, and Cliffs Natural Resources CLF, off 8.5 percent.

Top Headline

Germany’s Merck KGaA MKGAY announced its plans to acquire Sigma-Aldrich SIAL for $17 billion in cash.

The offer price of $140 per share represents a 37% premium to Sigma-Aldrich’s closing price of $102.37 on September 19.

Equities Trading UP

Sigma-Aldrich SIAL shares shot up 33.63 percent to $136.80 after Germany's Merck KGaA MKGAY announced its plans to acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share in cash.

Shares of Viasystems Group VIAS got a boost, shooting up 35.81 percent to $15.89 after TTM Technologies TTMI announced its plans to buy Viasystems for a total value of $16.46 per share.

Dresser-Rand Group DRC shares were also up, gaining 2.60 percent to $81.99 after Siemens AG SIEGY announced its plans to acquire Dresser-Rand for $7.6 billion.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of TriMas TRS were down 10.05 percent to $26.57 after the company cut its full-year profit outlook. The company also announced its plans to buy Allfast Fastening Systems for around $360 million.

CARBO Ceramics CRR shares tumbled 17.85 percent to $69.43 after the company provided an update concerning marketplace conditions and related impact to sales volumes.

Yahoo! YHOO was down, falling 4.96 percent to $38.90 after Bank of America downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.03 percent to $91.46, while gold traded up 0.09 percent to $1,217.70.

Silver traded down 0.41 percent Monday to $17.77, while copper fell 1.65 percent to $3.04.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.53 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.49 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.43 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.51 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.42 percent while UK shares dropped 0.67 percent.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to negative 0.21 in August, versus positive 0.26 in July.

Sales of existing homes fell 1.8% to an annual rate of 5.05 million in August. However, economists were estimating the sales rate to rise to 5.2 million.