Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.3 percent to 23,256.91 while the NASDAQ declined 0.01 percent to
6,634.90. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.24 percent to 2,500.78.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Wednesday, the energy shares climbed 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Alta Mesa Resources,
Inc. (NASDAQ: AMR) up 11 percent, and Ultra
Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: UPL) up 10 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell 2.3 percent.
Top Headline
Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE: OHI) announced plans to acquire MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc.
(NYSE: MRT) in a transaction representing enterprise value of
approximately $600 million.
Equities Trading UP
Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) shares got a boost, shooting up 53 percent to $1.96 after the company
entered a Securities Purchase Agreement with Life Biosciences. Life Biosciences is set to invest up to $44.5 million in Prana
Biotechnology.
Shares of MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MRT) shot up 44 percent to $9.84 after Omega Healthcare Investors,
Inc. (NYSE: OHI) announced plans to acquire
MedEquities Realty Trust in a transaction representing enterprise value of approximately $600 million.
Renmin Tianli Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAC) shares were also up, gaining 26 percent to $1.1701 after the company entered
into a purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of industrial and residential properties.
Equities Trading DOWN
Bitauto Holdings Limited (NYSE: BITA)
shares dropped 18 percent to $20.42 after surging 9.07 percent on Monday.
Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
were down 8 percent to $307.67 after the company's Q4 vehicle delivery numbers failed to meet estimates.
Globus Medical, Inc. (NYSE: GMED) was
down, falling around 8 percent to $40.04 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the
price target from $64 to $49.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 3.19 percent to $46.86 while gold traded up 0.55 percent to $1,288.30.
Silver traded up 0.45 percent Wednesday to $15.61, while copper fell 0.76 percent to $2.611.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.20 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.01
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.07 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.12 percent, and the French CAC 40
dipped 0.96 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.07 percent.
Economics
The manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.80 in December, versus an initial reading of 53.90. However, economists were expecting a
reading of 53.90.
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