Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Cal-Maine Q1 Net Profit Declines 7%

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.88 percent to 15,124.15 while the NASDAQ declined 0.82 percent to 3,750.73. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.75 percent to 1,679.03. Top Headline
Cal-Maine Foods CALM reported a 7% drop in its fiscal first-quarter earnings. Cal-Maine's quarterly profit fell to $8.8 million, or $0.36 per share, from $9.4 million, or $0.39 per share, in the year-ago period. Its sales rose 17% to $319.5 million, while gross margin shrank to 14.1% from 16.4%. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.36 per share on revenue of $296.73 million. Equities Trading UP The Active Network ACTV shot up 26.10 percent to $14.38 after the company agreed to be taken private by Vista Equity Partners for $1.05 billion. Shares of Brookfield Office Properties BPO got a boost, shooting up 16.49 percent to $19.54 after Brookfield Property Partners BPY proposed to acquire Brookfield Office Properties for $19.34 per share. Telecom Italia S.p.A. TI was also up, gaining 3.06 percent to $8.09. JP Morgan upgraded the stock from Underweight to Neutral. Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals ARNA were down 6.74 percent to $5.40. Credit Suisse lowered the price target on the stock from $5 to $4. Clovis Oncology CLVS shares tumbled 7.86 percent to $55.83 after the company reported updated results from an ongoing Phase I/II monotherapy study of rucaparib. Johnson Controls JCI was down, falling 2.94 percent to $41.28. Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Overweight to Underweight. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 1.55 percent to $101.28, while gold traded down 1.03 percent to $1,325.40. Silver traded down 1.72 percent Monday to $21.46, while copper fell 0.05 percent to $3.33. Eurozone European shares were lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.91 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 1.66 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.09 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 1.50 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.76 percent. Economics The Chicago PMI rose to 55.70 in September, versus a prior reading of 53.00. However, economists were expecting a reading of 54.00. The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills.