Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Exactech Surges Following Acquisition News; Eldorado Gold Shares Drop

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.08 percent to 23,348.21 while the NASDAQ declined 0.13 percent to 6,620.28. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.04 percent to 2,574.25.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday afternoon, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares surged 0.22 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Petmed Express Inc PETS, up 20 percent, and Kroger Co KR, up 3 percent.

In trading on Monday, telecommunications services shares fell 0.45 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Shenandoah Telecommunications Company SHEN, down 3 percent, and TIM Participacoes SA (ADR) TSU down 2 percent.

Top Headline

Halliburton Company HAL reported stronger-than-expected profit for its third quarter on Monday.

Halliburton posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share on revenue of $5.44 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $5.35 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Petmed Express Inc PETS shares shot up 20 percent to $43.90 as the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results.

Shares of Aimmune Therapeutics Inc AIMT got a boost, shooting up 35 percent to $34.73 in response to failed DBVT peanut allergy trial.

Exactech, Inc. EXAC shares were also up, gaining 31 percent to $41.88 after the company agreed to be acquired by TPG Capital for $42 per share in cash.

Equities Trading DOWN

DBV Technologies SA - ADR DBVT shares dropped 46 percent to $26.11 after the company disclosed that its peanut allergy trial failed to meet primary endpoint.

Shares of Connecture Inc CNXR were down 37 percent to $0.307. Connecture reported that it will voluntarily delist from the NASDAQ for OTCQX Market.

Eldorado Gold Corp (USA) EGO was down, falling around 25 percent to $1.62 after the company issued an update on Kisladag operations. Eldorado Gold lowered its production guidance for its Kisladag operation.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.01 percent to $51.84 while gold traded up 0.23 percent to $1,283.40.

Silver traded down 0.11 percent Monday to $17.06, while copper rose 0.63 percent to $3.1855.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.16 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.60 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.14 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.09 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.27 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.02 percent.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to a reading of +0.17 in September, compared to -0.37 in August.