Mid-Afternoon Market Update: U.S. Stocks Turn Negative; Cara Therapeutics Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.10 percent to 24,259.04 while the NASDAQ declined 0.76 percent to 7,504.35. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.23 percent to 2,716.91.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, the energy shares surged 1.54 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Seadrill Limited SDRL up 11 percent, and Ensco plc ESV up 10 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, information technology shares fell 0.68 percent.

Top Headline

Conagra Brands Inc CAG confirmed Wednesday morning it has reached an agreement to acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc PF for $8.1 billion, or $10.9 billion including debt.

Conagra, the parent company of multiple food brands including Pam cooking spray and Hebrew National hot dogs, will pay Pinnacle shareholders $43.11 per share in cash plus 0.6494 shares of Conagra common stock for each share of Pinnacle Foods held. The deal implies a value of $68 per Pinnacle Foods share, which is a slight premium to Tuesday's closing price of $67.86.

Equities Trading UP

Cara Therapeutics, Inc. CARA shares shot up 10 percent to $18.0595 after management reported positive top-line data for a drug candidate. A Phase 2/3 trial of intravenous CR845 in abdominal surgery patients achieved primary endpoints for pain relief and secondary endpoints for nausea and vomiting reduction.

Shares of China Lending Corporation CLDC got a boost, shooting up 32 percent to $6.17 after surging 145.55 percent on Tuesday.

The Lovesac Company LOVE shares were also up, gaining 30 percent to $20.736. The Lovesac Co. priced its IPO at $16 per share.

Equities Trading DOWN

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AQXP shares dropped 85 percent to $2.38 following news that AQX-1125 trial failed to meet primary endpoint.

Shares of Summit Therapeutics plc SMMT were down 80 percent to $2.5725 after the company disclosed that its PhaseOut Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy failed to meet primary endpoint.

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. PTIE was down, falling around 70 percent to $2.59 after the company confirmed a 14-3 vote against approval for REMOXY by a FDA panel.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.09 percent to $72.71 while gold traded down 0.34 percent to $1,255.60.

Silver traded down 0.65 percent Wednesday to $16.145, while copper fell 0.25 to $3.008.

Eurozone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.72 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.22 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.65 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 0.93 percent, and the French CAC 40 surged 0.87 percent while U.K. shares rose 1.11 percent.

Economics

U.S. durable goods orders dropped 0.6 percent for May.

The trade deficit in goods shrank 3.7 percent to $64.8 billion in May. However, economists were expecting a $69.2 billion deficit..

The pending home sales index fell 0.5 percent to a reading of 105.9 for May.

Crude supplies fell 9.9 million barrels for the week ended June 22, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts projected a drop of 2.3 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles gained 1.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles came in unchanged for the week.