Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher, Nasdaq OMX Group To Acquire eSpeed Platform

Following the market opening Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.58 percent to 14,657.15 while the NASDAQ gained 0.75 percent to 3,263.60. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.60 percent to 1,571.52. Top Headline
Nasdaq OMX Group NDAQ agreed to acquire eSpeed from BGC Partners BGCP for up to $1.23 billion. Nasdaq OMX Group will pay $750 million in cash and up to $484 million in stock to buy BGC Partners. Equities Trading UP
BGC Partners BGCP shot up 42.34 percent to $5.48 after Nasdaq OMX Group NDAQ agreed to acquire eSpeed from the company for up to $1.23 billion. Shares of Humana HUM got a boost, shooting up 8.85 percent to $81.66 after the company disclosed assessment on final 2014 Medicare rate notice. Nuance Communications NUAN was also up, gaining 8.03 percent to $21.80 after Carl Icahn bought a 9.27% stake in the company. Equities Trading DOWN
Nasdaq OMX Group NDAQ shares tumbled 7.62 percent to $29.57 after the company agreed to acquire eSpeed from BGC Partners for up to $1.23 billion. Delta Air Lines DAL was also down, falling 4.25 percent to $15.56 after the company reported financial and operating performance for March. Shares of EZCORP EZPW were down 4.94 percent to $19.82 after FBR Capital downgrades the stock from “market perform” to “underperform.” Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.90 percent to $96.20, while gold traded down 0.99 percent to $1,585.00. Silver traded down 1.12 percent Tuesday to $27.63, while copper fell 0.31 percent to $3.36. Eurozone
European shares were higher despite unemployment across the eurozone hitting a new record high as manufacturing PMI's were slightly better than expected in most countries. The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose to 46.8 in March from 46.6 in February, beating expectations of a reading of 46.6. Notably, Germany's manufacturing sector swung to a contraction in March from expansion previously and the Italian and Spanish PMI's were extremely weak. The Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.80% while the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.73 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.10 percent and the French CAC rose 1.03 percent and U.K. shares rose 1.19 percent. Economics
The ICSC-Goldman store sales index climbed 4.7% in the recent week ended Saturday versus the week before. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index surged 0.8% in the first four weeks of March versus February. However, sales for the latest week climbed 3.5% y/y. US factory orders surged 3.0% in February, versus a 3.7% drop in January. However, economists were expecting orders to rise by 2.9%. Fed Presidents Naryana Kocherlakota and Charles Evans are set to speak. The Treasury is set to auction 4- and 52-week bills.