Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Dow Turns Lower; Radiant Logistics Shares Drop Following Q4 Results

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.16 percent to 18,037.10 while the NASDAQ gained 0.39 percent to 5,175.22. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.06 percent to 2,125.86.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, technology shares gained 0.60 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included MakeMyTrip Limited MMYT, and Extreme Networks, Inc EXTR.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares tumbled 0.64 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included SunPower Corporation SPWR, down 13 percent, and CVR Energy, Inc. CVI, down 6 percent.

Top Headline

Bayer AG (ADR) BAYRY confirmed a deal to acquire Monsanto Company MON for $128 per share.

The $128 per share or $66 billion acquisition deal has been finalized and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2017. As part of the agreement, Bayer will pay Monsanto $2 billion if the transaction does not obtain the necessary regulatory approval.

Equities Trading UP

Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc VTAE shares shot up 158 percent to $20.90. Allergan plc AGN and Vitae Pharmaceuticals reached an agreement by which the former would buy the latter for $21.00 a share in cash.

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT got a boost, shooting up 23 percent to $31.43. Dr. Ron Farkas has left the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, people familiar with the matter told Benzinga. Farkas was the most vocal critic of Sarepta's eteplirsen, although there were other FDA members who agreed there was little efficacy for the drug.

Morgans Hotel Group Co. MHGC shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $2.06 as the company disclosed that it has received a revised takeover proposal of $2.75 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

LifeVantage Corp LFVN shares dropped 15 percent to $8.83 after announcing a delay in the release of its Q4 and FY 2016 financial results and form 10-K filing.

Shares of RF Industries, Ltd. RFIL were down 16 percent to $1.84. RF Industries reported a Q3 loss of $0.07 per share, versus year-ago earnings of $0.02 per share.

Radiant Logistics Inc RLGT was down, falling around 14 percent to $2.56. On Tuesday, Radiant Logistics reported a Q4 loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $183.6 million. Its adjusted net income for the quarter came in at $2.8 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.33 percent to $44.42 while gold traded up 0.20 percent to $1,326.40.

Silver traded up 0.50 percent Wednesday to $19.07, while copper rose 2.57 percent to $2.16.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.09 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.25 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.05 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.08 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.39 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.12 percent.

Economics

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity rose 4.2 percent for the week ended September 9.
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The import price index declined 0.2 percent in August, while export prices dropped 0.8 percent in August.

Crude supplies declined 600,000 barrels for the week ended September 9, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 3.3 million barrels. Gasoline supplies increased 600,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 4.6 million barrels.