Mid-Afternoon Market Update: CDI Gains On Acquisition News; Hertz Global Shares Slide

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.41 percent to 21,920.73 while the NASDAQ declined 0.36 percent to 6,351.99. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.05 percent to 2,473.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 0.40 percent in the US market on Monday. Top gainers in the sector included Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. AHGP, and CARBO Ceramics Inc. (ADR) CRR.

In trading on Monday, technology shares fell 0.65 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Ultra Clean Holdings Inc UCTT, down 4 percent, and Mitek Systems, Inc. MITK, down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Discovery Communications Inc. DISCA announced plans to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. SNI for $14.6 billion.

Discovery will pay $90 per share in cash and stock to buy Scripps. The transaction is projected to close by early 2018.

Equities Trading UP

Dynavax Technologies Corporation DVAX shares shot up 73 percent to $15.99 as the company announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 12-1 in support of the company’s Hepatitis B vaccine, HEPLISAV-B. RBC Capital upgraded Dynavax from Sector Perform to Outperform.

Shares of CDI Corp. CDI got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $8.20 as the company agreed to be acquired by AE Industrial Partners for $8.25 per share in cash.

Sohu.com Inc SOHU shares were also up, gaining 14 percent to $57.89. Sohu.com reported a Q2 loss of $1.85 per share on revenue of $461.168 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Invivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp NVIV shares dropped 23 percent to $1.89 as the company issued an update on the INSPRE study. InVivo Therapeutics has implemented a temporary enrollment halt on the trial due to patient who passed away suddenly at a rehab facility following discharge from hospital.

Shares of Navigant Consulting, Inc. NCI were down 14 percent to $17.02 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc HTZ was down, falling around 18 percent to $14.24. Barclays downgraded Hertz from Equal-Weight to Underweight.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.08 percent to $49.75 while gold traded down 0.14 percent to $1,273.50.

Silver traded up 0.54 percent Monday to $16.785, while copper rose 0.64 percent to $2.8935.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.13 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.32 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.26 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.37 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.73 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.05 percent.

Economics

The Chicago PMI declined to 58.90 in July, versus prior reading of 65.70. However, economists were expecting a reading of 60.00.

The pending home sales index increased 1.5 percent to 110.2 in June. However, economists projected a 0.7 percent rise in the index.

The Dallas Fed manufacturing business index rose to 16.80 in July, versus previous reading of 15.00. Economists expected a reading of 13.00.

Data on farm prices for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.