Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Culligan To Acquire AquaVenture For $27.10/Share

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.38% to 28563.58 while the NASDAQ rose 0.15% to 8938.00. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.13% to 3,225.36.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrial shares climbed 0.3% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Corporacion America Airports S.A. (NYSE: CAAP), up 5%, and The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), up 3%.

In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell 0.4%.

Top Headline

AquaVenture Holdings Ltd (NYSE: WAAS) agreed to be acquired by privately held water company Culligan for $27.10 per share, in an all-cash deal valued at around $1.1 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITCI) shares shot up 130% to $28.48 after the company announced it has received FDA approval for CAPLYTA, the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

Shares of Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) got a boost, shooting up 35% to $10.39 after the company announced it will be acquired by Brookfield Infrastructure for $10.50 per share.
Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA) shares were also up, gaining 30% to $2.9276 after the company reported insider buying of approximately $937K. When an insider buys shares, the market may perceive it as a sign of confidence in the company's outlook.

Equities Trading DOWN

Safe-T Group Ltd (NASDAQ: SFET) shares tumbled 22% to $3.18 after the company reported the pricing of $1,677,278 registered direct offering.

Shares of Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MNPR) were down 17% to $22.51.

LAIX Inc. (NYSE: LAIX) was down, falling 15% to $6.49.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $60.40, while gold traded up 0.4% to $1,487.40.

Silver traded up 1.2% Monday to $17.435, while copper rose 0.1% to $2.8085.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.3%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.6%. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.1%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.1% while UK shares rose 0.5%.

Economics

U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in November, versus a 0.2% rise in October.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index climbed to 0.56 in November, versus a revised reading of -0.76 in the prior month.

U.S. new home sales rose 1.3% to an annual rate of 719,000 for November.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury will auction 2-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.