Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.74 percent to 24,109.57 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.24 percent to
7,001.07. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.65 percent to 2,621.31.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Monday morning, the information technology shares climbed 1.63 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The
Meet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEET), up 8 percent, and
FRONTEO, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEO), up 10 percent.
In trading on Monday, telecommunication services shares fell 0.96 percent.
Top Headline
Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) announced plans to buy
AveXis Inc (NASDAQ: AVXS) for $8.7 billion in
cash.
The offer price of $218 per share represents an 88 percent premium over AveXis' closing price on Friday.
Equities Trading UP
Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) shares
shot up 60 percent to $4.09 after the company raised its guidance for the first quarter.
Shares of AveXis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVXS) got a boost,
shooting up 78 percent to $206.42 after the company agreed to be acquired by Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) for $8.7 billion.
Therapix Biosciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: TRPX) shares
were also up, gaining 34 percent to $6.69 after the company disclosed topline results of Phase IIa study at Yale University for
Tourette Syndrome program.
Equities Trading DOWN
Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MNLO) shares
dropped 71 percent to $10.07 as the company disclosed that its Phase 2 trial of serlopitant for pruritus associated with atopic
dermatitis did not meet primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints.
Shares of NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMIH) were
down 20 percent to $14.12.
Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT) was down,
falling around 10 percent to $2.40. Schmitt reported Q3 earnings of $0.00 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.04 per share. Its
total sales rose 1.2 percent to $3.23 million.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.84 percent to $62.58 while gold traded up 0.22 percent to $1,333.10.
Silver traded down 0.17 percent Monday to $16.335, while copper rose 0.18 percent to $3.064.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.18 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index climbed 0.69
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.39 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.51 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose
0.20 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.18 percent.
Economics
On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.
© 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.