Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Crude Oil Up 2.5%; Xencor Shares Surge Following Deal With Novartis

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.82 percent to 17,281.21 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.44 percent to 4,660.74. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.96 percent to 2,019.82.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Tuesday, energy shares rose by 2.1 percent. Top gainers in the sector included EV BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust BPT and Pioneer Energy Services Corp PES.

In trading on Tuesday, utilities shares rose by just 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included South Jersey Industries Inc SJI, down 3 percent, and Chesapeake Utilities Corporation CPK, down 2 percent.

Top Headline

Gannett Co Inc GCI announced its plans to acquire ReachLocal Inc. RLOC for $4.60 per share.

Gannett projects the deal to close in the third quarter.

Equities Trading UP

Xencor Inc XNCR shares shot up 36 percent to $17.03 after the company announced a strategic collaboration with Novartis AG (ADR) NVS. Novartis will receive ex-US rights to XmAb 14045 and XmAb 13676.

Shares of ReachLocal Inc. RLOC got a boost, shooting up 174 percent to $4.55 after Gannett Co Inc GCI announced its plans to acquire the company for $4.60 per share.

China Jo-Jo Drugstores Inc CJJD shares were also up, gaining 18 percent to $1.95. China Jo-Jo Drugstores reported Q4 earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $20.469 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Regulus Therapeutics Inc RGLS shares dropped 47 percent to $2.66 after the FDA said it had placed the company’s lead product candidate, RG-101 for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, on clinical hold.

Shares of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc BW were down 21 percent to $14.91 after the company lowered its 2016 earnings forecast and announced plans to cut over 200 positions in North America immediately.

Celyad SA (ADR) CYAD was down, falling around 32 percent to $28.71. Celyad reported that its CHART-1 Phase 3 trial did not meet primary endpoint.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 2.5 percent to $47.49 while gold traded down 0.51 percent to $1,318.00.

Silver traded up 0.53 percent Tuesday to $17.88, while copper rose 2.23 percent to $2.17.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 2.57 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 2.48 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 3.3 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.93 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 2.61 percent, while U.K. shares rose 2.64 percent.

Economics

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.1 percent in the first quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 1 percent growth.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index declined 0.9 percent during the first four weeks of June versus May.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose 5.4 percent year-over-year for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 5.4 percent gain.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index increased to 98 in June, versus a reading of 92.4 in May. However, economists were expecting a reading of 93.3.

The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index came in at -7 for June, versus economists’ estimates for a reading of 2.