Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Huya and DouYu To Merge

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.63% to 28767.67 while the NASDAQ rose 1.41% to 11,743.41. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.95% to 3,510.10.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 7,763,370 cases with around 214,770 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 7,120,530 confirmed cases and 109,150 deaths, while Brazil reported over 5,094,970 COVID-19 cases with 150,480 deaths. In total, there were at least 37,563,220 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 1,077,320 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares jumped 1.3% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Dillard's, Inc. DDS, up 30%, and Dada Nexus Limited DADA, up 12%.

In trading on Monday, energy shares fell 0.4%.

Top Headline

Huya Inc HUYA and DouYu International DOYU announced a merger agreement Monday.

The deal comes after pressure from Tencent Holdings for the companies to merge. Huya will acquire all outstanding Douyu shares, including ADS. Each Douyu ADS will receive .730 ADS of Huya, representing one Huya Class A share.

Equities Trading UP

Apex Global Brands Inc. APEX shares shot up 71% to $9.93.

Shares of Lizhi Inc. LIZI got a boost, shooting 65% to $4.36 after the company was selected to participate in a government-backed program designed to spur innovation.

Dillard's, Inc. . DDS shares were also up, gaining 37% to $57.60 after Berkshire Hathaway investment manager Ted Weschler showed a 5.89% stake in the company.

Equities Trading DOWN

Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. ATXI shares tumbled 56% to $4.835 after the company received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for IV Tramadol.

Shares of Marine Petroleum Trust MARPS were down 27% to $2.7451 after jumping more than 114% on Friday.

Zynex, Inc. ZYXI was down, falling 26% to $14.55 after the company cut its Q3 sales guidance.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.6% to $39.96, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,926.70.

Silver traded up 0.4% Monday to $25.21 while copper rose 0.2% to $3.0875.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.5%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.3%. Meanwhile, the German DAX 30 gained 0.3%, French CAC 40 climbed 0.5% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%.

Wholesale prices in Germany fell 1.8% year-over-year in September after declining 2.2% in the prior month.

Economics

On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.