Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Cimarex Energy To Buy Resolute Energy For $1.6B

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.68 percent to 25,240.39 while the NASDAQ declined 1.55 percent to 7,135.63. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.68 percent to 2,717.61.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday morning, the real estate shares climbed 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Innovative Industrial Properties Inc IIPR up 3 percent, and Washington Prime Group Inc WPG up 4 percent.

In trading on Monday, information technology shares fell 1.7 percent.

Top Headline

Cimarex Energy Co XEC announced plans to buy Resolute Energy Corp REN for $35 per share in cash and stock in a deal valued at $1.6 billion, including debt.

Equities Trading UP

Akers Biosciences, Inc. AKER shares shot up 63 percent to $2.00 after the company announced it is evaluating potential business combinations in alternative sectors, including the cannabis industry.

Shares of Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. ZAYO got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $26.59 after Bloomberg reported the company has acquisition interest from Blackstone and Stonepeak.

Fortress Biotech, Inc. FBIO shares were also up, gaining 17 percent to $1.4444 after the company announced it will sell its stake in National Holdings Corporation for around $23 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. SPB shares dropped 16 percent to $49.76 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.

Shares of Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SNOA were down 21 percent to $0.877 after the company announced an equity offering priced at $1 per share.

PG&E Corporation PCG was down, falling around 6 percent to $22.94 after the company filed an additional electric incident report with the California Public Utilities Commission related to California's Camp Fire.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 1.38 percent to $55.68 while gold traded down 0.15 percent to $1,221.20.

Silver traded down 0.15 percent Monday to $14.36, while copper fell 0.5 percent to $2.796.

Eurozone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.13 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.16 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.36 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.02 percent, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.03 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.37 percent.

Economics

The NAHB housing market index declined 8 points to a reading of 60 in November. However, economists were expecting a reading of 67.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in Bronx, NY at 10:45 a.m. ET.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak at Bronx, NY at 3:15 p.m. ET.