Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Qiagen To Pursue Standalone Business Plan

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.15% to 28,559.58 while the NASDAQ rose 0.40% to 8,988.77. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.26% to 3,231.80.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed 0.5% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Stage Stores Inc SSI, up 9%, and Centric Brands Inc CTRC, up 4%.

In trading on Thursday, industrial shares fell 0.1%.

Top Headline

Following the conclusion of a strategic review, Qiagen NV QGEN said the execution of its current business plan is the best opportunity to drive future value creation.

The company's supervisory board determined the various offers received weren't compelling and therefore terminated all discussions in a bid to execute on the company's standalone plan.

Equities Trading UP

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. LQDA shares shot up 80% to $6.33 after Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating on the stock.

Shares of NewLink Genetics Corporation NLNK got a boost, shooting up 45% to $3.37 on above-average price action. The company announced an exclusive worldwide license with Ellipses Pharma on December 23rd.

Technical Communications Corporation TCCO shares were also up, gaining 17% to $5.52 after rising 10.3% on Tuesday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SPPI shares tumbled 55% to $ 3.9275 after the company reported that its pre-specified primary endpoint in the Phase 2 Trial of Poziotinib in the previously treated NSCLC was not met in the Cohort 1.

Shares of Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SBPH were down 52% to $1.7301 after the company reported that it has stopped dosing of inarigivir patients in Phase 2 program.

QIAGEN N.V. QGEN was down, falling 25% to $31.26 after the company announced it would not be acquired and it will stay a stand-alone business. Bank of America also reinstated its Underperform rating on the stock and announced a price target of $28 per share.

Commodities


In commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $61.20, while gold traded up 0.4% to $1,510.90.

Silver traded up 1.1% Thursday to $18.045, while copper rose 0.4% to $2.8385.

Euro zone

European markets will remain closed until Friday.


Economics

Initial jobless claims dropped 13,000 to 222,000 in the week ended December 21. However, economists were expecting a reading of 220,000 in the week.

The Treasury is set to auction 4-and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Treasury will auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.