Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Omega Healthcare Investors to Buy MedEquities Realty Trust

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. BSVN up 7 percent, and Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. BSBR up 5 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell 2.2 percent.

Top Headline

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. OHI announced plans to acquire MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc. MRT in a transaction representing enterprise value of approximately $600 million.

Equities Trading UP

Prana Biotechnology Limited 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. MRT shot up 44 percent to $9.83 after Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. OHI announced plans to acquire MedEquities Realty Trust in a transaction representing enterprise value of approximately $600 million.

Renmin Tianli Group, Inc. 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. PME shares dropped 18 percent to $2.08.

Shares of Tesla, Inc. TSLA were down 8 percent to $305.01 after the company's Q4 vehicle delivery numbers failed to meet estimates.

Performant Financial Corporation 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.