Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Aegerion Pharmaceuticals And QLT Agree To Merge

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.28 percent to 17,724.23 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.29 percent to 4,857.84. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.34 percent to 2,082.29.

On Wednesday, basic materials shares gained by 1.1 percent. Top gainers in the sector included

and

. In trading on Wednesday, energy shares declined by 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included

, down 4 percent, and

, down 3 percent.

and

revealed that they reached a definitive merger agreement under which Aegerion will be merged with a fully owned indirect subsidiary of QLT. According to the company, after the planned merger completion, each outstanding share of Aegerion would be exchanged for 1.0256 shares of QLT common stock. The companies indicated QLT intends to change its name after the closing of the proposed transaction to Novelion Therapeutics Inc.

shares shot up 31 percent to $9.11 as

offered to buy Patriot National for $9.50 per share. Shares of

got a boost, shooting up 53 percent to $2.04 following merger announcement with QLT.

shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $4.16 after the company reported positive results of a tumor-targeting study.

shares dropped 18 percent to $1.50 as the company reported the pricing of a $2.1 million public offering. Shares of

were down 14 percent to $2.50 as the company reported a private placement of shares at $2.36 per unit for a total of $7.08 million.

was down, falling around 8 percent to $41.06. Bob Evans Farms reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak earnings forecast for the year.

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.57 percent to $47.73 while gold traded down 0.13 percent to $1,286.40. Silver traded up 0.29 percent Wednesday to $17.48, while copper rose 3.09 percent to $2.10.

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.17 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.70 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 1.35 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 1.09 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 1.39 percent, while U.K. shares rose 0.90 percent.

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity declined 2.40 percent for the week ended June 10, 2016. U.S. producer prices increased 0.4 percent in May, versus economists' expectations for a 0.3 percent growth. The Empire State manufacturing index climbed to 6.01 in June, versus a prior reading of -9.02. Economists were expecting a reading of -4.00. U.S. industrial production declined 0.40 percent for May, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20 percent drop. The EIA's weekly report on petroleum inventories is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.