Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.62 percent to 23,182.84 while the NASDAQ declined 0.70 percent to
6,589.10. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.62 percent to 2,491.39.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Wednesday morning, the financial shares slipped by just 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Bank7
Corp. (NASDAQ: BSVN) up 7 percent, and
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE: BSBR)
up 5 percent.
In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell 2.2 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 50 percent to $1.92 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 $9.83 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 34 percent to $1.25 after the company entered
into a purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of industrial and residential properties.
Equities Trading DOWN
Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd. (NASDAQ: PME) shares dropped 18 percent to $2.08.
Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
were down 8 percent to $305.01 after the company's Q4 vehicle delivery numbers failed to meet estimates.
Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: PFMT) was down, falling around 15 percent to $1.92.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.67 percent to $44.65 while gold traded up 0.38 percent to $1,286.20.
Silver traded down 0.55 percent Wednesday to $15.455, while copper fell 0.93 percent to $2.6065.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.78 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.88 percent,
while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.89 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.52 percent, and the French CAC 40 dipped
1.51 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.73 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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