Mid-Day Market Update: AMD Surges After Upbeat Results; Acacia Research Shares Decline

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.17 percent to 16,436.00 while the NASDAQ surged 0.39 percent to 4,111.33. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.24 percent to 1,869.24. Leading and Lagging Sectors
Monday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT and STAAR Surgical Company STAA. In trading on Monday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.45 percent. Top losers in the sector included Endeavour Silver EXK, off 4 percent, and Hecla Mining Co HL, down 3.5 percent. Top Headline
Halliburton HAL posted a profit in the first quarter. Halliburton swung to a quarterly profit of $622 million, or $0.73 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $18 million, or $0.02 per share. Its income from continuing operations came in at $0.73 per share. Its total revenue climbed to $7.35 billion versus $6.97 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.72 per share on revenue of $7.26 billion. Equities Trading UP
Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT shares shot up 47.95 percent to $36.10 on announcement that it will file NDA for Eteplirsen for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by the year-end. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices AMD got a boost, shooting up 11.92 percent to $4.13 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and issued a strong Q2 revenue forecast. AstraZeneca PLC AZN shares were also up, gaining 5.75 percent to $67.14 on report of potential acquisition by Pfizer PFE. Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Moneygram International MGI were 14.99 percent to $12.59. JMP Securities downgraded Moneygram from Market Outperform to Market Perform. Acacia Research ACTG shares tumbled 6.98 percent to $15.87 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results. athenahealth ATHN was down, falling 5.80 percent to $137.14 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results. Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky R. Goldwasser removed the $133.00 price target on athenahealth. Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.13 percent to $104.44, while gold traded down 0.53 percent to $1,287.00. Silver traded down 1.10 percent Monday to $19.38, while copper fell 0.23 percent to $3.03. Euro zone
Europe's markets were quiet with British, Italian, French and German markets all closed for Easter holidays. Economics
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to 0.20 in March, versus a prior reading of 0.14. However, economists were expecting a reading of 0.20. The Conference Board's index of leading indicators rose 0.80% in March, versus economists' expectations for a 0.70% growth.