Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Vintage Capital To Acquire Rent-A-Center For $15/Share

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.96 percent to 24,848.74 while the NASDAQ declined 0.44 percent to 7,712.17. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.63 percent to 2,762.06.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the energy shares surged 1.37 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc. EGC up 19 percent, and Teekay Tankers Ltd. TNK up 9 percent.

In trading on Monday, telecommunication services shares fell 1.61 percent.

Top Headline

Rent-A-Center Inc RCII disclosed that its board unanimously approved a sale to Vintage Capital for about $1.365 billion including debt.

Rent-A-Center stockholders would receive about $15 in cash per share at the end of the transaction, which represents a 49-percent premium to Rent-A-Center’s price ahead of its pursuit of strategic alternatives. The board began exploring options in October 2017.

Equities Trading UP

Gevo, Inc. GEVO shares shot up 31 percent to $4.60 after the company disclosed that the EPA has approved registration of isobutanol in 16% blends in gasoline.

Shares of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. PTCT got a boost, shooting up 25 percent to $46.9635. The biopharmal company that develops treatments for rare disorders announced updated interim clinical data from a clinical study of its risdiplam therapy in babies with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

ObsEva SA OBSV shares were also up, gaining 36 percent to $19.8086. The clinical-stage biopharma company that focuses on addressing conditions related to reproductive health and pregnancy said its phase 2b clinical trial of its linzagolix therapy achieved primary and secondary endpoints.

Equities Trading DOWN

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. CBIO shares dropped 54 percent to $11.5105 after the company issued an update on CB 2679d/ISU304 Factor IX clinical program in hemophilia B.

Shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. ZIOP were down 17 percent to $3.5563 after the company disclosed that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on a Phase 1 trial to evaluate CD19-specific CAR-T therapies.

Cytokinetics, Incorporated CYTK was down, falling around 18 percent to $8.15 after the company reported that data from Phase 2 clinical study of reldesemtiv in patients with spinal muscular atrophy were presented at the 2018 Annual Cure SMA Conference.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.26 percent to $65.23 while gold traded up 0.32 percent to $1,282.60.

Silver traded up 0.18 percent Monday to $16.51, while copper fell 1.19 to $3.107.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.96 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.04 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.76 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 1.38 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 1.29 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.27 percent.

Economics

The housing market index dropped 2 points to a reading of 68 in June.

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

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Savannah at 1:00 p.m. ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in New York at 4:00 p.m. ET.