Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Down 1%; China New Borun Shares Spike Higher

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.19 percent to 21,039.51 while the NASDAQ declined 0.11 percent to 6,203.35. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.11 percent to 2,413.08.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Telecommunications services sector was the top gainer in the US market on Tuesday. Top gainers in the sector included Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc CNSL, Partner Communications Company Ltd (ADR) PTNR, and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ.

In trading on Tuesday, energy shares fell 0.90 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Pioneer Energy Services Corp PES, down 8 percent, and Whiting Petroleum Corp WLL, down 9 percent.

Top Headline

ENSCO PLC ESV announced plans to buy Atwood Oceanics, Inc. ATW in an all-stock deal.

Under the terms of the deal, Atwood shareholders will receive 1.60 shares of Ensco for each Atwood share. The transaction values each Atwood share at $10.72 per share.

Equities Trading UP

China New Borun Corp BORN shares shot up 25 percent to $1.54 after the company reported Q1 unaudited financial results. The company’s net income climbed 77.9 percent to RMB44.9 million ($6.5 million), while total revenue rose 6.0 percent to RMB515.9 million ($74.8 million)/

Shares of Atwood Oceanics, Inc. ATW got a boost, shooting up 25 percent to $10.11 after ENSCO PLC ESV announced plans to buy the company in an all-stock deal.

Protagonist Therapeutics Inc PTGX shares were also up, gaining 46 percent to $11.98 after the company disclosed that it has entered into a worldwide agreement with Janssen to co-develop and commercialize PTG-200 for the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Equities Trading DOWN

Ambarella Inc AMBA shares dropped 7 percent to $60.35. Pacific Crest downgraded Ambarella from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Shares of Walter Investment Management Corp WAC were down 19 percent to $1.14.

Whiting Petroleum Corp WLL was down, falling around 9 percent to $7.24. Goldman Sachs downgraded Whiting Petroleum from Neutral to Sell.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.06 percent to $49.27 while gold traded down 0.47 percent to $1,265.40.

Silver traded up 0.30 percent Tuesday to $17.375, while copper fell 0.04 percent to $2.565.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.19 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.07 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.15 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.24 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.50 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.28 percent.

Economics

U.S. personal income gained 0.4 percent in April, while consumer spending also rose 0.4 percent last month.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index increased 5.9 percent year-over-year for March, versus economists’ expectations for a 5.8 percent growth.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index declined to 117.90 in May, versus a prior reading of 120.30. However, economists were expecting a reading of 119.80.

The Dallas Fed manufacturing business index rose to 17.20 in May, versus a previous reading of 16.80. Economists projected a reading of 15.40.

The Treasury will auction 4-week bills at 1:00 p.m. ET.