Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Carlyle Group To Acquire Blyth For $6/Share

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 1.03 percent to 16,471.30 while the NASDAQ declined 0.95 percent to 4,782.69. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.97 percent to 1,969.64.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Monday, healthcare shares declined by 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO), up 13 percent, and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA), up 5 percent.

Energy shares dipped by 2.55 percent in Monday’s trading. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (NASDAQ: VNR), down 9 percent, and BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: BBEP), off 8 percent.

Top Headline

Blyth, Inc. (NYSE: BTH) agreed to be acquired by The Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ: CG) for $98 million.

Carlyle Group will pay 6.00 per share for Blyth, representing a premium of around 105 percent to Blyth’s closing price on Friday.

Equities Trading UP

The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) shares shot up 14 percent to $38.19 following the announcement of positive ALN-PCSsc study results.

Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) got a boost, shooting up 3 percent to $195.24 following announcement of the FDA Priority Review for obeticholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis.

J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP) shares were also up, gaining 3 percent to $9.25. Deutsche Bank upgraded JC Penney from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $10.00 to $12.00.

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Equities Trading DOWN

ConforMIS Inc (NASDAQ: CFMS) shares tumbled 14 percent to $17.00 after the company lowered its FY15 revenue outlook. ConforMIS also reported that it has begun a voluntary recall of specific serial numbers of patient-specific instrumentation for the iUni, iDuo and iTotal systems.

Shares of LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) were down 10 percent to $2.67. Crude oil futures fell 2.52 percent to trade at $44.08 a barrel.

IAMGOLD Corp (USA) (NYSE: IAG) was down, falling 7 percent to $1.59. Gold futures declined 0.53 percent to $1,128.00 an ounce.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.17 percent to $44.69, while gold traded down 0.60 percent to $1,127.20.

Silver traded down 0.75 percent Monday to $14.44, while copper fell 1.49 percent to $2.31.

Eurozone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.35 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.08 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.32 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.84 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.94 percent.

Economics

The Chicago PMI declined to a reading of 54.4 in August, versus a reading of 54.7 in July. Economists were expecting a reading of 54.7.

Data on farm prices for August will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

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