Mid-Day Market Update: US Stocks Turn Red, Ulta Salon Rises On Upbeat Earnings

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.36 percent to 15,066.04 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.54 percent to 3,418.55. The S&P also fell, declining 0.40 percent to 1,619.65. Top Headline
India's Apollo Tyres announced its plans to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Co CTB for about $2.5 billion. Shareholders of Cooper Tire will receive $35 per share in cash, representing a 42% premium to Cooper Tire's closing stock price on Tuesday. The transaction is likely to close in the second half of this year. Equities Trading UP
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co CTB shot up 40.55 percent to $34.52 after India's Apollo Tyres announced its plans to acquire the company for about $2.5 billion. Shares of Spectra Energy SE got a boost, shooting up 9.50 percent to $33.20 after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from “equal-weight” to “overweight.” Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA was also up, gaining 16.52 percent to $98.03 after the company reported upbeat first-quarter earnings. Equities Trading DOWN
Icahn Enterprises LP IEP was down, falling 7.76 percent to $73.35 after the company priced its registered public offering of 1.6 million depositary units. Shares of First Solar FSLR were down 3.31 percent to $50.56 after the company announced a public offering of 8.5 million shares of common stock. Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO shares tumbled 5.71 percent to $15.85 after the company announced a proposed offering of $250 million of convertible senior notes. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.64 percent to $95.99, while gold traded up 1.10 percent to $1,392.10. Silver traded up 0.94 percent Wednesday to $21.85, while copper rose 0.56 percent to $3.21. Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower. Industrial production in the eurozone rose faster than expected in April. Industrial production rose 0.4 percent in April vs. an expected drop of 0.2 percent however March's figure was revised slightly lower to +0.9 percent from +1.0 percent. On an annualized basis, industrial production fell 0.6 percent vs. a 1.2 percent expected drop. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.43 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 1.61 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.96 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.44 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.64 percent. Economics
The Mortgage Bankers Association index of mortgage application activity surged 5% in the week ended June 7, versus an 11.5% drop in the previous week. US crude-oil supplies climbed by 2.5 million barrels to 393.8 million barrels for the week ended June 7, the Energy Information Administration reported. The U.S. Treasury monthly budget report for May will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.