Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Hertz Rises as Silver and Gold Companies Drop

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.49 percent to 14,644.70 while the NASDAQ gained 0.40 percent to 3,252.34. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.43 percent to 1,568.74.

Nasdaq OMX Group

agreed to acquire eSpeed from BGC Partners

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.

BGC Partners

shot up 48.57 percent to $5.72 after Nasdaq OMX Group

agreed to acquire eSpeed from the company for up to $1.23 billion. Shares of Hertz

jumped 7.30 percent to $23.51 after the company released some strong earnings guidance before the market opening Tuesday. Optimer Pharmaceuticals

was also up, gaining 19.62 percent to $13.96 after Bloomberg reported that the company drew bidding interest.

Nasdaq OMX Group

shares tumbled 12.62 percent to $27.97 after the company agreed to acquire eSpeed from BGC Partners for up to $1.23 billion. Allied Nevada Gold

fell 9.96 percent to $14.65 as silver and gold companies have been taking a beating throughout today's trading session. Shares of Nordic American Tankers

were down 10.84 percent to $9.82 after the company priced 9.75 million share follow on offering at $9.60 per share.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.15 percent to $96.92, while gold traded down 1.55 percent to $1,575.30. Silver traded down 2.48 percent Tuesday to $27.25, while copper fell 0.01 percent to $3.37.

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 1.65% while the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 1.41 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 1.91 percent and the French CAC rose 1.98 percent and U.K. shares rose 1.26 percent.

The ICSC-Goldman store sales index climbed 4.7% in the recent week ended Saturday versus the week before. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Indexsurged 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.