Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Imperva Tumbles Amid Sale Concerns; Banc of California Shares Surge

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.38 percent to 18,230.12 while the NASDAQ gained 0.08 percent to 5,247.96. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.29 percent to 2,145.69.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, energy shares gained by 1.33 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Bill Barrett Corporation BBG, and Oasis Petroleum Inc. OAS.

In trading on Wednesday, healthcare shares fell by 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Acadia Healthcare Company Inc ACHC, down 9 percent, and Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. SGMO, down 10 percent.

Top Headline

Morgan Stanley MS reported stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter. This is the fourth straight quarter of an EPS beat.

The company's profit jumped from $1.0 billion to $1.6 billion while EPS climbed from $0.48 to $0.81 and came in above the Street estimates of $0.63 a share.

Morgan Stanley's net revenue advanced from $7.8 billion to $8.9 billion and topped the Street analysts' expectations of $8.17 billion. Excluding DVA, its revenue would have been $7.3 billion in the previous year quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Cerulean Pharma Inc CERU shares shot up 39 percent to $0.959 after the company disclosed that it has struck a strategic collaboration agreement with Swiss drug giant Novartis AG (ADR) NVS to develop nanoparticle-drug conjugates.

Shares of Banc of California Inc BANC got a boost, shooting up 22 percent to $13.73 as the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter.

GNC Holdings Inc GNC shares were also up, gaining 12 percent to $21.66. According to a Wall Street Journal report, GNC has recently met with prospective buyers from China. The current market cap of the company is about $1.4 billion and has an estimated debt of close to $1.6 billion. Including the debt, the possible deal could be valued at about $4 billion.

Equities Trading DOWN

VASCO Data Security International, Inc. VDSI shares dropped 16 percent to $15.14 as the company lowered its FY16 revenue guidance. Dougherty & Co. downgraded VASCO Data Security from Buy to Neutral.

Shares of Imperva Inc IMPV were down 16 percent to $39.30 after concerns were raised on the possible sale. According to a Bloomberg report, the sale process has been put on a hold, as the company is seeking increased deal price.

Puma Biotechnology Inc PBYI was down, falling around 19 percent to $42.45 after the company announced a $150 million offering of common stock.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.21 percent to $51.74 while gold traded up 0.48 percent to $1,269.00.

Silver traded up 0.15 percent Wednesday to $17.67, while copper fell 0.17 percent to $2.10.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.34 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.96 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.46 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.29 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.41 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.32 percent.

Economics

The MBA’s index of mortgage application activity rose 0.6 percent for the week ended October 8, 2016.

U.S. housing starts declined 9 percent in September from August to an annual rate of 1.05 million. Economists were expecting a 1.18 million pace for the month.

Crude supplies declined 5.2 million barrels for the week ended October 14, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 2.5 million barrels. Gasoline supplies gained 2.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles slipped 1.2 million barrels.

The Federal Reserve released its latest Beige Book report.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in New York at 7:45 p.m. ET.