Mid-Afternoon Market Update: DavidsTea Falls After Q1 Results; Synergy Pharmaceuticals Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.15 percent to 17,931.03 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.15 percent to 5,062.93. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.14 percent to 2,099.16.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities sector was the top gainer in the US market on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included NiSource Inc. NI, up 3 percent, and Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. CWCO, up 3 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dropped by 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Newpark Resources Inc NR, down 9 percent, and Energen Corporation EGN, off 7 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 65 percent to $7.64 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 $74.10 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 6 percent to $55.73 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 23 percent to $22.43. 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 $26.01. 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 4 percent to $175.73 after the company reported downbeat Q4 sales.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.50 percent to $59.67, while gold traded down 0.25 percent to $1,183.90.
Silver traded up 0.63 percent Wednesday to $16.07, while copper rose 0.02 percent to $2.62.

Euro zone
European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.45 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 0.53 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.71 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.60 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 1.02 percent while UK shares fell 0.44 percent.

Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 5.5 percent in the week ended June 12, 2015.
Crude supplies slipped 2.7 million barrels for the week ended June 12, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Analysts were expecting a decline of 2.4 million barrels. Gasoline supplies rose 500,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles climbed 100,000 barrels last week.
The FOMC announced its policy decision.