Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Rise; Allergan To Acquire Kythera Biopharmaceuticals For $2.1B

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.19 percent to 17,937.94 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.27 percent to 5,069.22. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.20 percent to 2,100.55.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy sector was the top gainer in the US market on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Comstock Resources Inc CRK, up 6 percent, and Rex Energy Corporation REXX, up 6 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, financial shares rose by just 0.02 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (ADR) GGAL, down 6 percent, and BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (ADR) BFR, off 5 percent.

Top Headline

Allergan PLC AGN announced its plans to buy Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc KYTH for around $2.1 billion in a cash-and-stock deal.

Allergan will pay $75 per share for Kythera. The companies expect the deal to close in the third quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc SGYP shares shot up 35 percent to $6.29 following the report of positive results from Phase 3 trial of Plecanatide.

Shares of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc KYTH got a boost, shooting up 22 percent to $74.09 after Allergan PLC AGN announced its plans to buy Kythera Biopharma for $2.1 billion in cash & stock.

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. HRC shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $57.00 after the company announced its plans to acquire Welch Allyn for $2.05 billion in cash and stock.

Equities Trading DOWN

DavidsTea Inc DTEA shares tumbled 10 percent to $26.11. DavidsTea reported Q1 earnings of C$0.04 per share on revenue of C$35.8 million. The company Sees expected Q2 sales of C$30 million to C$31 million and adjusted loss of C$0.09 to C$0.08 per share.

Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated LZB were down 4 percent to $26.00. La-Z-Boy reported in-line earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, but the company’s sales missed analysts’ estimates.

FedEx Corporation FDX was down, falling 3 percent to $176.66 after the company reported downbeat Q4 sales.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.82 percent to $61.06, while gold traded down 0.17 percent to $1,178.90.

Silver traded up 0.06 percent Wednesday to $15.98, while copper rose 0.08 percent to $2.62.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.37 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.30 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.15 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.52 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.99 percent while UK shares fell 0.40 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 5.5 percent in the week ended June 12, 2015.

The FOMC will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.