Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed; Signet To Acquire Zale For $21/Share

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.25 percent to 16,169.84 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.29 percent to 4,260.26. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.04 percent to 1,841.54. Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.31%. Meanwhile, top gainers in energy sector included Ocean Rig UDW ORIG, with shares up 7.4%, and Nabors Industries NBR, with shares up 8.6%. Shares of Nabors jumped after the company reported fourth-quarter results. Telecommunications services sector was the leading decliner in the US market today. Telecommunications services stocks dropped 0.31% in today's trading. Among the stocks, Mobile Telesystems OJSC MBT was down more than 3.5%, while Telecom Argentina SA TEO tumbled around 1.8%. Top Headline
Signet Jewelers SIG announced its plans to buy Zale ZLC for around $690 million. Signet will pay $21 per share to acquire Zale, representing a 41% premium to Zale's closing price of $14.91 on Tuesday. Equities Trading UP
Zale ZLC shot up 39.97 percent to $20.87 after Signet Jewelers SIG announced its plans to buy Zale for around $690 million. Shares of Garmin GRMN got a boost, shooting up 9.94 percent to $51.86 after the company reported upbeat fourth-quarter earnings. Signet Jewelers SIG was also up, gaining 13.37 percent to $89.87 after the company announced its plans to acquire Zale for $21.00 per share. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of SM Energy Company SM were down 15.74 percent to $75.48 after the company reported downbeat quarterly earnings. KeyBanc downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold. Potbelly PBPB shares tumbled 7.27 percent to $20.77 after the company reported its fourth quarter results. Bank of America cut the price target on the stock from $33.00 to $27.00. La-Z-Boy LZB was down, falling 8.08 percent to $24.92 on weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.52 percent to $102.96, while gold traded down 0.32 percent to $1,320.20. Silver traded down 0.15 percent Wednesday to $21.87, while copper rose 0.12 percent to $3.29. Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.22 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 0.51 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 0.25 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.13 percent while U.K. shares slipped 0.32 percent. Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 4.1% in the week ended February 14. The ICSC/Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index rose 2.5% in the week ended Saturday. Construction on new homes declined 16% to an annual rate of 880,000 in in January. However, economists were expecting a rate of 945,000 in January. US producer prices increased 0.2% in January, versus economists' expectations for a 0.1% rise. The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 1.2% in the first two weeks of February. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills.