Mid-Day Market Update: Crude Oil Up Over 3%; Prana Biotechnology Shares Jump

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.3 percent to 23,256.91 while the NASDAQ declined 0.01 percent to 6,634.90. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.24 percent to 2,500.78.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

On Wednesday, the energy shares climbed 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Alta Mesa Resources, Inc. AMR up 11 percent, and Ultra Petroleum Corp. UPL up 10 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, real estate shares fell 2.3 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 53 percent to $1.96 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 $9.84 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 26 percent to $1.1701 after the company entered into a purchase agreement to acquire a portfolio of industrial and residential properties.

Equities Trading DOWN

Bitauto Holdings Limited BITA shares dropped 18 percent to $20.42 after surging 9.07 percent on Monday.

Shares of Tesla, Inc. TSLA were down 8 percent to $307.67 after the company's Q4 vehicle delivery numbers failed to meet estimates.

Globus Medical, Inc. GMED was down, falling around 8 percent to $40.04 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $64 to $49.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 3.19 percent to $46.86 while gold traded up 0.55 percent to $1,288.30.

Silver traded up 0.45 percent Wednesday to $15.61, while copper fell 0.76 percent to $2.611.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.20 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.01 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.07 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX gained 0.12 percent, and the French CAC 40 dipped 0.96 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.07 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.