Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Hostess Brands To Buy Voortman Cookies

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.41% to 27937.69 while the NASDAQ fell 0.94% to 8,583.76. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.52% to 3,124.63.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed 1% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Nextier Oilfield Solutions Inc NEX, up 6%, and McDermott International Inc MDR, up 6%.

In trading on Monday, real estate shares fell 1.3%.

Top Headline

Hostess Brands Inc TWNK will acquire Voortman Cookies, a manufacturer of branded wafers and sugar-free specialty cookies, from Swander Pace Capital for approximately $320 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in early January.

The company plans to finance the $320 million transaction by using cash on its balance sheet, along with secured financing commitments from Credit Suisse and Citi.

Equities Trading UP

Kodiak Sciences Inc. KOD shares shot up 131% to $68.24 after the company reported the sale of future royalties on KSI-301 for $225 million to Baker Bros. Advisors.

Shares of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited ASLN got a boost, shooting up 68% to $6.40 after the company reported positive data from its proof-of-concept study of ASLAN004.

NF Energy Saving Corporation BIMI shares were also up, gaining 23% to $3.2398 after the company announced it would acquire Chongqing Guanzan Technology for RMB 100 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Paringa Resources Limited PNRL shares tumbled 17% to $1.82 after dropping 57.9% on Friday.

Shares of Cancer Genetics, Inc. CGIX were down 17% to $7.28 after climbing 58.2% on Friday.

Just Energy Group Inc. JE was down, falling 16% to $2.29 after the company announced it would suspend its dividend on its Series A preferred stock.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 2.4% to $56.51, while gold traded down 0.6% to $1,463.90.

Silver traded down 0.9% Monday to $16.955, while copper fell 0.1% to $2.6595.

Euro zone


European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.5%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.6%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.1%, and the French CAC 40 fell 0.2% while UK shares rose 0.1%.

Economics

The IHS Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 52.6 in November, compared to a preliminary reading of 52.2 and versus 51.3 in October.

The ISM manufacturing PMI declined to 48.1 in November, compared to 48.3 in October.

Construction spending fell 0.8% in October 2019, versus a revised 0.3% decline in the prior month.

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