Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higehr; Pfizer To Acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals For $5.2B

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.31 percent to 17,589.73 while the NASDAQ surged 0.38 percent to 4,735.42. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.30 percent to 2,052.80.

Basic materials shares rose around 2.01 percent in trading on Monday. Top gainers in the sector included

,

, and

. In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell by 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 1.5 percent, and

, down 2 percent.

announced plans to buy

rose for $99.25 per share in cash. The total transaction value, net of cash, is estimated to be approximately $5.2 billion, which assumes the conversion of Anacor's outstanding convertible notes.

shares shot up 19 percent to $13.65 as

increased its offer to buy Tribune Publishing to $15 per share from $12.25 per share. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 55 percent to $99.02 after the company agreed to be acquired by

for $99.25 per share.

shares were also up, gaining 71 percent to $1.33 after the company agreed to be acquired by

for $1.35 per share.

shares dropped 26 percent to $7.89 after the company reported that its Phase 2b ECLIPSE trial has missed primary endpoint. Shares of

were down 31 percent to $1.75. Versar reported a Q3 loss of $1.34 per share on revenue of $36.5 million.

was down, falling around 9 percent to $6.23 as the company reported that TRV027 did not achieve primary or secondary endpoints.

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.21 percent to $47.23 while gold traded up 1.12 percent to $1,286.90. Silver traded up 1.33 percent Monday to $17.36, while copper rose 0.41 percent to $2.08.

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 dropped 0.38 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.87 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.20 percent. The French CAC 40 declined 0.68 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.36 percent.

The Empire State general business conditions index dropped to negative 9.02 in May, compared to positive 9.56 in April. However, economists were expecting a reading of positive 6.50. The NAHB housing market index was unchanged at 58 in May. However, economists were projecting a reading of 59.