Mid-Day Market Update: NASDAQ Rises Over 100 Points; Axovant Sciences Shares Surge

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.16 percent to 25,512.72 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.37 percent to 7,522.91. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.85 percent to 2,772.23.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Monday, the information technology shares rose 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included USA Technologies, Inc. USAT up 9 percent, and CLPS Inc CLPS up 12 percent.

In trading on Monday, industrial shares fell 0.1 percent.

Top Headline

Israel-based Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. MLNX reached an agreement to sell itself to U.S.-based Nvidia Corporation NVDA for $6.9 billion, or $125 per share in cash.

Mellanox confirmed it will merge with Nvidia to create a new business that will power over 250 of the world's TOP500 supercomputers.

Equities Trading UP

Axovant Sciences Ltd AXGT shares got a boost, shooting up 39 percent to $2.06 after the company's AXO-AAV-GM2 gene therapy showed no serious adverse events in a Tay-Sachs patient and was well tolerated. Patient condition was stable from baseline to month 3.

Shares of Yatra Online, Inc. YTRA shot up 37 percent to $5.20 after Ebix offered to acquire the company for $7 per share.

Seres Therapeutics, Inc. MCRB shares were also up, gaining 46 percent to $7.47 after reporting microbiome immuno-oncology focused collaboration with AstraZeneca.

Equities Trading DOWN

Quorum Health Corporation QHC shares dropped 17 percent to $1.9550. Big Lots will replace Quorum Health in the S&P SmallCap 600 on Monday, March 18.

Shares of AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. AQB were down 25 percent to $3.6441. AquaBounty Technologies shares surged 118.3 percent Friday after the FDA lifted import alert on AquAdvantage Salmon.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. RVLT was down, falling around 34 percent to $0.2600 after VL 1 LLC, an affiliate of the Company's Chairman and CEO, announced it has decided not to pursue an acquisition the company.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.9 percent to $56.59 while gold traded down 0.5 percent to $1,292.30.

Silver traded down 0.6 percent Monday to $15.26, while copper rose 0.1 percent to $2.895.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.6 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.3 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.7 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.6 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.3 percent.

Economics

U.S. retail sales rose 0.2 percent for January.

U.S. business inventories increased 0.6 percent for December, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent rise.

The Treasury will auction 3-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak in Washington, DC at 7:00 p.m. ET.