Mid-Afternoon Market Update: International Speedway Slips On Weak Results; Applied Genetic Technologies Shares Spike Higher

Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.28 percent to 17,707.73 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.28 percent to 4,999.15. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.20 percent to 2,073.36.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Energy shares jumped by 0.98 percent on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included VAALCO Energy, Inc. EGY, up 11 percent, and Pacific Drilling SA PACD, up 6 percent.
In trading on Thursday, utilities shares slipped by 1.65 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included NiSource Inc. NI, down 63 percent, and Huaneng Power International Inc (ADR) HNP, off 2 percent.

Top Headline
Centene Corp CNC announced its plans to acquire Health Net, Inc. HNT Health Net, Inc. in a cash and stock deal valued at around $6.8 billion, including the assumption of $500 million in debt.
As per the agreement, Health Net shareholders will receive 0.622 shares of Centene common stock and $28.25 in cash for each HNT stock, representing a premium of around 21 percent over Health Net's closing stock price on July 1, 2015.
Equities Trading UP
Xoom Corp XOOM shares shot up 22 percent to $25.20 after the company agreed to be acquired by Paypal for $890 million, or $25 per share.
Shares of Applied Genetic Technologies Corp AGTC got a boost, shooting up 15 percent to $18.65. Biogen Inc BIIB and AGTC announced entering into a collaboration related to the development of gene therapies in ophthalmology.
Health Net, Inc. HNT shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $71.00 after Centene Corp CNC announced its plans to acquire Health Net.

Equities Trading DOWN
Franklin Covey Co. FC shares tumbled 12 percent to $17.65 on Q3 results. Franklin Covey reported FQ3 net income of $1.2 million.
Shares of International Speedway Corp ISCA were down 5 percent to $34.96 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp CTSH was down, falling 3 percent to $60.12. Cognizant issued an update on Health Net relationship and reaffirmed 2015 guidance.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.42 percent to $57.20, while gold traded down 0.46 percent to $1,163.90.
Silver traded up 0.02 percent Thursday to $15.58, while copper rose 0.02 percent to $2.63.

Euro zone
European shares closed mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.42 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index dropped 0.60 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.43 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.41 percent, and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.95 percent while UK shares climbed 1.68 percent.

Economics
US jobless claims rose 10,000 to 281,000 in the week ended June 27. However, economists were projecting claims to total 275,000.
The US economy added 223,000 new jobs in June, versus economists’ expectations for a 225,000 gain. The unemployment rate shrank to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent.
US factory orders declined 1.00 percent in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.50 percent drop.
Supplies of natural gas increased 69 billion cubic feet for the week ended June 26, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 68 billion cubic feet to 72 billion cubic feet.