Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Novartis To Acquire AveXis For $8.7B

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.74 percent to 24,109.57 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.24 percent to 7,001.07. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.65 percent to 2,621.31.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the information technology shares climbed 1.63 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Meet Group, Inc. MEET, up 8 percent, and FRONTEO, Inc. FTEO, up 10 percent.

In trading on Monday, telecommunication services shares fell 0.96 percent.

Top Headline

Novartis AG NVS announced plans to buy AveXis Inc AVXS for $8.7 billion in cash.

The offer price of $218 per share represents an 88 percent premium over AveXis' closing price on Friday.

Equities Trading UP

Turtle Beach Corporation HEAR shares shot up 60 percent to $4.09 after the company raised its guidance for the first quarter.

Shares of AveXis, Inc. AVXS got a boost, shooting up 78 percent to $206.42 after the company agreed to be acquired by Novartis AG NVS for $8.7 billion.

Therapix Biosciences Ltd. TRPX shares were also up, gaining 34 percent to $6.69 after the company disclosed topline results of Phase IIa study at Yale University for Tourette Syndrome program.

Equities Trading DOWN

Menlo Therapeutics Inc. MNLO shares dropped 71 percent to $10.07 as the company disclosed that its Phase 2 trial of serlopitant for pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis did not meet primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints.

Shares of NMI Holdings, Inc. NMIH were down 20 percent to $14.12.

Schmitt Industries, Inc. SMIT was down, falling around 10 percent to $2.40. Schmitt reported Q3 earnings of $0.00 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.04 per share. Its total sales rose 1.2 percent to $3.23 million.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.84 percent to $62.58 while gold traded up 0.22 percent to $1,333.10.

Silver traded down 0.17 percent Monday to $16.335, while copper rose 0.18 percent to $3.064.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.69 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.39 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.51 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.20 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.18 percent.

Economics

On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.