Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower, Perrigo To Acquire Elan For $8.6B

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.23 percent to 15,522.77 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.05 percent to 3,611.36. The S&P also fell, declining 0.24 percent to 1,687.65. Top Headline
Perrigo PRGO announced its plans to buy Elan Corporation plc ELN for $8.6 billion. Perrigo will pay $6.25 per share in cash and $10.25 per share in stock to buy Elan. The deal price of $16.50 per share represents a 10.5% premium to Elan's closing price on Friday. Perrigo projects the transaction to close by year-end. Equities Trading UP
Omnicom Group OMC shot up 7.82 percent to $70.20 after the company announced its plans to merge with Publicis Group. Shares of Elan Corporation plc ELN got a boost, shooting up 6.03 percent to $15.83 after Perrigo PRGO announced its plans to buy the company for $8.6 billion. Saks SKS was also up, gaining 3.66 percent to $15.87 after Hudson's Bay announced its plans to buy the company for $16 per share. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Sohu.com SOHU were down 7.89 percent to $64.48 on Q2 results. Hertz Global Holdings HTZ was down, falling 4.56 percent to $25.67 after the company reported a 31% rise in its second-quarter profit. Shanda Games GAME shares tumbled 18.72 percent to $5.08 after the company acquired platform-related affiliates. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.38 percent to $105.10, while gold traded up 0.57 percent to $1,329.40. Silver traded up 0.53 percent Monday to $19.88, while copper fell 0.24 percent to $3.10. Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index surged 0.38 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.76 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.20 percent and the French CAC 40 gained 0.21 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.29 percent. Economics
Pending home sales declined 0.4% in June, the National Association of Realtors reported. The Dallas Fed general business activity index for July will be released Monday. The Treasury is set to auction 3- and 6-month bills.