Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Tumble, Shuanghui To Acquire Smithfield Foods

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.72 percent to 15,299.11, while the NASDAQ fell 0.60 percent to 3,467.88. The S&P was also down, dropping 0.77 percent to 1,647.23.

Smithfield Foods

agreed to be bought by Chinese Shuanghui Group for around $4.8 billion. Smithfield shareholders will receive $34 per share, a 31% premium to the Smithfield's closing price of $25.97 on Tuesday. The transaction is projected to close in the second half of the year.

Stewart Enterprises

shot up, gaining 34.34 percent to $13.09, after the company agreed to be bought by Service Corporation International

for $13.25 per share in cash. Smithfield Foods

was also up 24.34 percent to $32.29, after the company agreed to be bought by Chinese Shuanghui Group for around $4.8 billion. The Fresh Market

got a boost, shooting up 14.32 percent to $53.00 after the company reported a 15% rise in its fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year same-store sales growth forecast.

Chico's FAS

was down, falling 6.36 percent to $18.11, after the company reported downbeat Q1 results. Trina Solar

shares tumbled 5.40 percent to $6.42 on weak Q1 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals

was down 2.76 percent to $17.60 after the company closed its initial public offering of 9,686,171 shares at a price of $14.50 per share.

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.72 percent to $94.33, while gold gained 0.41 percent to $1,384.50. Silver traded up 0.21 percent Wednesday to $22.24, while copper fell 0.89 percent to $3.29.

European shares were lower following mixed economic data. The number of Germans claiming unemployment benefits jumped much more than expected in May, as 21 thousand Germans claimed benefits for the first time vs. only 5 thousand expected. The unemployment rate remained flat at 6.9 percent. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.62 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.72 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.49 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 1.29 percent while U.K. shares tumbled 1.53 percent.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 9% versus the earlier week. The ICSC/Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 0.9% in the recent week ended Saturday versus the earlier week. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index climbed 0.6% in the first three weeks of May versus April. The Treasury is set to auction 4- and 52-week bills and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren is set to speak.