Market Update

Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC HBC dropped about 0.3% after the company announced its plans to merge its Saudi Arabian wholesale and investment banking unit with SABB Securities Ltd. SABB will have a 51% stake of the new entity, to be known as HSBC Saudi Arabia Ltd. HSBC expects the merger to complete by the end of this year. Shares of Fundtech Ltd FNDT gained about 3% after S1 Corp SONE agreed to acquire Fundtech in a stock deal valued at $20.51 per share or about $700 million. S1 will issue 2.72 shares for each share of Fundtech, according to the merger agreement. S1 shareholders will own 55% of the new company and the rest by Fundtech shareholders. The deal is likely to close in the fourth quarter and is expected to add to S1's 2012 adjusted earnings. Shares of LDK Solar Co Ltd LDK rose about 5.7% after the company announced its plans to buyback up to $110 million of its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions.