6:12 pm Ellington Financial announces its estimated book value per common share as of September 30, 2015 was $22.23 on a diluted basis (EFC) :  

5:46 pm SM Energy announces completion of semi-annual redetermination of its borrowing base under its senior secured revolving credit facility; borrowing base reduced to $2.0 bln from $2.4 bln (SM) : This expected reduction was primarily the result of the Company's sale of Mid-Continent assets for approximately $324 million, completed in the second quarter of 2015, plus adjustments consistent with lower commodity prices. The Company has elected to leave the commitments from the bank group unchanged at $1.5 billion. As of the end of the third quarter of 2015, approximately $184 million was drawn on the credit facility.

5:44 pm Moneygram announces it has renewed an agreement with Launch Federal Credit Union to provide official check services at all of the credit union's locations. (MGI) :  

5:43 pm PharmAthene announces oral arguments in SIGA's appeal and PharmAthene's cross-appeal have concluded (PIP) : Co announces that oral arguments in SIGA's appeal and PharmAthene's cross-appeal of the Delaware Court of Chancery's January 15, 2015 Final Order and Judgment in PharmAthene's litigation against SIGA took place in the Delaware Supreme Court today at 11:00 am ET. No conclusions about the final outcome of the case should be drawn from the arguments of counsel before the Court.

5:18 pm Newtech to launch a public offering of 2 mln shares of its common stock (NEWT) :  

5:18 pm Scotts Miracle-Gro prices $400 mln of 6.000% senior notes due 2023 (SMG) :  

5:17 pm Vertex Energy names John Strickland as Chief Operating Officer effective immediately (VTNR) : He will succeed David Peel, who will retire at the end of the year.

5:16 pm AutoZone announces Board authorization of the repurchase of an addition $750 mln of common stock (AZO) :

• "AutoZone's continued strong financial performance allows us to repurchase our stock while maintaining our investment grade credit ratings," said Bill Giles, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Information Technology and ALLDATA.

5:11 pm Fenix Parts announces acquisition of Butler Auto Sales and Parts for $8.3 mln in cash and 106,918 shares of Fenix common stock (FENX) : Co announces the acquisition of Butler Auto Sales and Parts in Forest City, North Carolina for $8.3 million in cash and 106,918 shares of Fenix common stock. The cash portion of the purchase price was financed through a combination of cash on hand and utilization of $2.2 million of the Company's credit facility. Butler is a full-service auto recycling facility servicing Charlotte and the surrounding markets and represents Fenix Parts' first location in North Carolina. For the 12 months ended July 31, 2015, Butler had revenues of approximately $9 million.

5:11 pm BDCA Venture terminates its Investment Advisory and Administrative Services Agreement with BDCA Venture Adviser, its investment advisor, effective December 6 (BDCV) : Following the effective date of termination, the Company will become internally managed. However, the Company currently intends to engage one or more third parties to provide certain administrative and other services to the Company. The Company will no longer make investments in new venture companies and will now shift its focus to the orderly monetization of its current holdings.

5:05 pm Wesco announces Chief Operating Officer Stephen A. Van Oss will retire at the end of the year (WCC) : As part of the Company's efforts to streamline its management structure, his position as Chief Operating Officer will not be replaced.

5:04 pm Ascena Retail Group transition Kay Krill from President and CEO of ANN INC. to ASNA's Board (ASNA) : Gary Muto, who currently serves as President of ANN brands, will succeed Ms. Krill as President and Chief Executive Officer of ANN INC

5:02 pm National Healthcare secures a $175 mln line of credit with Bank of America (NHC) : The $175 million credit facility replaces the $75 million line of credit that was in place prior to this agreement.

5:02 pm Northern Tier Energy completes unplanned maintenance on the St. Paul Park refinery No. 2 Crude Unit, unit was safely restarted and returned to service on October 2 (NTI) :  

5:01 pm BWX Technologies announces Mr. Rex D. Geveden has been named Chief Operating Officer, effective October 26, 2015 (BWXT) : Most recently, Mr. Geveden was Executive Vice President at Teledyne Technologies (TDY), where he led two of Teledyne's four operating segments.

5:00 pm Escalera Resources to voluntarily delist its common stock from Nasdaq (shares halted) (ESCR) :  

4:54 pm Vertex Pharma's sNDA for the use of KALYDECO in people with cystic fibrosis ages 2 and older accepted by the FDA (VRTX) : The FDA granted Vertex's request for Priority Review of this sNDA, and a target review date of February 6, 2016 was set under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (:PDUFA) for the FDA's decision on the sNDA. The submission was based on preclinical and clinical data showing the effect of ivacaftor on CFTR function in certain residual function mutations.

4:52 pm Kimco Realty announces pricing of $500 mln of 3.400% notes due 2022 (KIM) : Co announces its public offering of $500 million notes due 2022 at a coupon of 3.400% per annum with an effective yield of 3.510%, maturing November 1, 2022.

4:46 pm Novartis AG's Sandoz Canada launches PrSandoz Solifenacin on the Canadian market, which is used in reducing urinary urgency, frequency and incontinence (NVS) : PrSandoz Solifenacin is a generic equivalent to the product Vesikur marketed in Canada under the name PrVesicare. This generic drug is available immediately on the Canadian market.

4:40 pm Drone Aviation shuffles management, discloses letter from Chairman on plans to improve presence; planning potential uplisting, will conduct reverse split (DRNE) :

On October 2, 2015, the Board of Drone Aviation accepted Felicia Hess' resignation as Chief Executive Officer, President and Director and appointed her as Chief Operating Officer of the Company and accepted Daniyel Erdberg's resignation as Chief Operating Officer and appointed him as the President of the Company. On October 2, 2015, the Board appointed Kevin Hess, who has been serving as the Director of Engineering of the Company, as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Felicia Hess. Highlights from the Chairman's letter:

• "I am writing to you today to highlight some of the critical actions that we believe must be taken to position Drone Aviation Holding Corp. (DAC) to benefit from the growth just now beginning to emerge in the commercial drone market....we are beginning the process of taking those actions necessary to seek listing on a national stock exchange such as NASDAQ....To achieve this minimum bid requirement, the Board has asked for, and received, majority shareholder consent for a reverse stock split to be executed no later than September 13, 2016. Once the reverse split has been completed, we intend to pursue listing on a national exchange, assuming the other requirements can be met at that time."
• The company's split will be at a ratio of not less than 1 for 15 and not more than 1 for 50

4:32 pm Pzena reports prelim September, 2015 AUM of $25.5 bln, down from $26.4 bln Y/Y (PZN) :  

4:31 pm Newstar Financial has also authorized the repurchase of up to $5 mln of the co's common stock (NEWS) :

• Co also announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Feingold O'Keeffe Capital, LLC d/b/a FOC Partners, a private alternative asset management firm based in Boston, Massachusetts for $19.3 million, net of acquired cash.

4:28 pm Lumber Liquidators reaches a settlement with the DOJ related to compliance with the Lacey Act, regarding the sourcing of timber by foreign suppliers (LL) :

The settlement concludes the DOJ's inquiry launched in 2013, which primarily related to certain foreign suppliers harvesting more timber than their permits allowed in foreign jurisdictions, such as Eastern Russia, and the Company's importation of flooring products made from this timber. The settlement is unrelated to current California Air Resources Board related claims around certain Lumber Liquidators products.

• As part of the settlement, Lumber Liquidators has agreed to plead guilty to violations of a Customs law and the Lacey Act, and pay a combined total of $10.0 million in fines, community service payments and forfeited proceeds. The payments include a $7.8 million fine, community service contributions of $880,825 and $350,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation fund, respectively, and a $969,175 forfeiture payment. The Company reserved for this amount in the first quarter of 2015
• In addition, as previously disclosed, the Company determined in the second quarter of 2015 that there were Lacey Act compliance concerns related to a limited amount of its engineered hardwood flooring
  • As a result, the Company suspended sales of approximately $4.1 million of this product pending further investigation, and brought this matter to the attention of the DOJ. During its investigation, the Company determined that there were no compliance concerns with respect to approximately $0.9 million of the suspended engineered hardwood flooring.
  • As part of the agreement with the DOJ announced today, the Company also reached a settlement with the DOJ related to the remaining $3.2 million of suspended engineered hardwood flooring. In the settlement, the DOJ will accept a $3.2 million payment in lieu of a civil forfeiture of this product, and the Company will be permitted to sell the suspended engineered hardwood flooring and retain any proceeds of the sale.

4:22 pm EXFO reports Q4 EPS in-line, misses on rev; gudies Q1 EPS below with rev in-line; guides FY16 rev in-line; names Philippe Morin COO (EXFO) :

• Q4 EPS $0.04 vs $0.04 Capital IQ Consensus; revs -2% to $56.6 mln vs $58.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Sees Q1 EPS $0.01-0.03 vs $0.05 Capital IQ Consensus; sees revs $55-660 mln vs $58.17 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• For fiscal 2016, EXFO is targeting adjusted EBITDA of US$20 million which should be achieved at a revenue level of about US$230 mln vs. $233 mln consensus.
• "We strengthened our executive team with the appointment of Philippe Morin in a new role as COO to improve global sales execution and product strategy. His vast executive experience at Ciena and Nortel will be strong assets for EXFO as we strive to expand our end-to-end network performance and service visibility business."

4:19 pm SiriusXM and NFL announce six-year extension of satellite radio agreement (SIRI) :  

4:19 pm Horizon Technology Finance provides Q3 investment portfolio update, originated $33 mln of loans during the quarter (HRZN) :

Co funded new loans in the third quarter of 2015 totaling $32.8 mln. Highlighted loans of the quarter include:

• $7.5 mln to new portfolio company Rhapsody International -provider of an on-demand streaming music service; $6.3 mln to existing portfolio company New Haven Pharmaceuticals; $6 mln to new portfolio company Lehigh Technologies - specialty materials company that produces high-performance micronized rubber powders; $5 mln to an existing portfolio company Palatin Technologies (PTN); $5 mln to an existing portfolio company Argos Therapeutics (ARGS)

Co also noted that it experienced early pay-offs during the third quarter of 2015 totaling $16.4 mln, compared to early pay-offs totaling $5.4 mln during the second quarter of 2015.

4:18 pm Learning Tree names Richard A. Spires as CEO (LTRE) : In conjunction with Spires' appointment, Dr. David Collins announced his resignation as the Company's CEO, effective immediately. Collins will retain his position with the Company as Chairman of the Board and will act an advisor to the Company's management. Spires served as the CEO of Resilient Network Systems during 2014 and 2015

4:18 pm Callon Petroleum announces that the borrowing base under its senior secured revolving credit facility was increased by 20% to $300 mln (CPE) : Co announces that the borrowing base under its senior secured revolving credit facility was increased to $300 million following its lenders' regularly scheduled semi-annual redetermination process. There were no other changes to the terms of the credit facility resulting from this borrowing base redetermination.

4:17 pm Patriot National files a registration statement for a proposed follow-on offering of common stock (PN) : Co will include shares of common stock sold by the company and may include shares sold by certain of its stockholders. Co expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to finance its growth plans including future acquisitions, for working capital and other general corporate purposes, and to repay all outstanding amounts under its revolving credit facility

4:16 pm BioTime's OncoCyte subsidiary files Registration Statement with the SEC in connection with BioTime's planned distribution OncoCyte common stock to holders of BioTime (BTX) : The "record date" for determining BioTime shareholders entitled to receive OncoCyte common stock in the planned distribution, and the date on which the distribution will occur, have not yet been determined. However, BioTime's plan is to effect the distribution to BioTime shareholders in late 2015, subject to certain conditions.

4:16 pm Tilly's appoints Edmond Thomas as President and CEO and member of the Board effective October 12 2015 (TLYS) : Daniel Griesemer is stepping down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as a Director of the Company, effective October 7, 2015. Mr. Thomas served as the Company's President and Co-Chief Executive Officer from September 2005 to October 2007. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Wet Seal (WTSLQ) from September 2014 to August 2015, and as a partner of KarpReilly, a private investment firm focused on small to mid-size growth companies, from February 2011 to August 2014.

4:15 pm Thoratec's shareholders approve of its previously announced acquisition by St. Jude Medical (STJ); transaction closure expected on October 8, 2015 (THOR) : Co shareholders will receive $63.50 in cash for each share per July 21, 2015 press release.

4:12 pm Dynasil Corporation of America makes a $2 mln optional prepayment, on its $3 mln of subordinated debt owed to Massachusetts Capital Resource Company (DYSL) : Co made $2 million of optional prepayments on its $3 million principal amount of subordinated debt with Massachusetts Capital Resource Company. In connection with the prepayment, MCRC agreed to reduce the interest rate from ten percent to six percent per year, as well as extend the term of the remaining debt one year to July 31, 2018.

4:10 pm Nivalis Therapeutics announces positive Phase 1b results for N91115 in patients with Cystic Fibrosis; plans to initiate Phase 2 Trial in the 4Q15 (NVLS) :

Co announces positive topline results from a Phase 1b clinical study evaluating N91115 that demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in adult CF patients with two copies of the F508del-CFTR mutation.

• The trial demonstrated that N91115 was safe and well tolerated over the dose range studied. The pharmacokinetic profile of N91115 fully achieved the targeted blood levels and dose selection rationale. While not powered to demonstrate statistically significant clinical efficacy, there was a trend toward a modest reduction in sweat chloride at the highest dose studied that may suggest a threshold effect for CFTR modulation (placebo difference -5.2 mmol/L, 95% CI -11.7, 1.4, p = 0.11). Full results of the Phase 1b trial will be presented in an oral presentation and posters at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference being held October 8-10, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. Sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the NACFC is the largest forum of its kind to advance research for the treatment and cure of CF.
• Full results of the Phase 1b trial will be presented in an oral presentation and posters at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (:NACFC) being held October 8-10, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Phase 2 study of N91115 added to Orkambi in people with CF who have two copies of the F508del mutation is subject to regulatory review and Co plans to initiate in the 4Q15 with data available in the second half of 2016.

4:09 pm Resources Connect beats by $0.03, beats on revs (RECN) :

• Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.16; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $148.3 mln vs the $146.18 mln consensus.  Net income for Q1 of 2016 includes a $0.01 per share charge for stock-based compensation
• Adjusted EBITDA improves 16.3% to $15.7 mln (10.6% of revenue).
• Q1 Gross margin was 38.7% vs 39.2% in the prior year quarter.

4:08 pm Closing Market Summary: Biotechnology Leads Stocks Higher (:WRAPX) :

The stock market ended the Wednesday session on a higher note with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%) settled a bit ahead despite showing relative weakness in the early going.

Overall, the midweek session was very quiet, but there was some volatility present in the market as stocks surrendered their opening gains going into the afternoon, but returned into the middle of their ranges by the closing bell. It is worth noting that the pullback from opening highs occurred after the S&P 500 made a brief appearance above its 50-day moving average (1,997), which also served as resistance during afternoon action.

Similar to yesterday, commodity-sensitive energy (+1.3%) and materials (+1.3%) paced the opening move higher, but both sectors surrendered a portion of their gains as the session wore on. The energy sector was up nearly 2.5% at the start, but retreated from its high as crude oil erased its intraday gain. The energy component settled lower by 1.5% at $47.81/bbl after sliding from its intraday high in reaction to the latest Energy Information Administration's inventory report, which showed a 3.07 million barrel build.

Staying on the cyclical side, the largest sector by weight-technology (+0.4%)-underperformed throughout the day, but was able to climb off its low into the close. Large sector components like Apple (AAPL 110.67, -0.64), Alphabet (GOOGL 670.00, -1.64), and Oracle (ORCL 37.66, -0.07) lost between 0.2% and 0.6% while high-beta chipmakers outperformed, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 1.5%.

The afternoon rebound in technology helped the Nasdaq overtake the S&P 500 while biotechnology also contributed to the late strength in the tech-heavy index. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 307.81, +5.90) climbed 2.0%, snapping its two-day skid, while the health care sector (+1.5%) settled in the lead.

Also of note, the consumer discretionary sector (+0.3%) struggled in the early going, but ended the day in the green despite an 18.8% plunge in the shares of Yum! Brands (YUM 67.70, -15.72) after the company reported disappointing results and guided below analyst expectations.

Unlike stocks, Treasuries spent the day in negative territory, ending the day with modest losses. Accordingly, the benchmark 10-yr yield rose three basis points to 2.07%.

Today's participation was well above average with more than 1.15 billion shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Consumer Credit and MBA Mortgage Index:

• The consumer credit report for August showed an increase of $16.00 billion, which was lower than the Briefing.com consensus estimate of $19.50 billion
  • The prior month's credit growth was revised down to $18.90 billion from $19.10 billion
• The weekly MBA Mortgage Index surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline

Tomorrow, weekly Initial Claims will be reported at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 275,000) while the September FOMC Minutes will be released at 14:00 ET.

• Nasdaq Composite +1.2% YTD
• S&P 500 -3.1% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -5.1% YTD
• Russell 2000 -4.3% YTD

4:07 pm Metabolix enters into a $20 mln common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund (MBLX) : Under terms of the agreement, Aspire has committed to purchase up to $20 million of Metabolix's common stock over a 30 month period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement relating to the transaction. Metabolix plans to use the net proceeds from any sale of common stock under the agreement for general corporate purposes and working capital requirements.

4:06 pm Jinpan International LTD announces its special committee has retained financial and legal advisors to evaluate the previously announced 'going private' offer (JST) :  

4:05 pm Mistras Group beats by $0.14, beats on revs; reaffirms FY16 guidance; announces $50 mln buyback (MG) :

• Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.09; revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $179.9 mln vs the $166.02 mln consensus.
  • Organic revenue growth was the primary driver to the Company's overall revenue growth, as each of the Company's three segments achieved organic revenue growth of more than 5%. Revenue growth from previous acquisitions was mostly offset by the adverse impact of foreign exchange rates and dispositions. 
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees FY16 EBITDA $72-78 mln, revs $710-725 mln vs. $716.80 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $50 million of the Company's outstanding common stock

4:04 pm BlackRock to put forth a management proposal supporting the adoption of proxy access in its 2016 Proxy Statement (BLK) : Pending shareholder approval, the management proposal to amend the company's by-laws would permit a shareholder, or a group of up to 20 shareholders, to nominate up to 25% of the Board of Directors; provided the nominating shareholder(s), and their nominees, satisfy eligibility requirements specified in the company's by-laws. Shareholders would be required to demonstrate economic ownership of at least 3% of BlackRock's shares outstanding for a period of at least 3 consecutive years. BlackRock defines "economic ownership" as having full economic interest in, including the opportunity for profit from and risk of loss on, such shares.

4:04 pm Ocean RIG UDW announces an update on its fleet, stating 'the market continues to remain challenging due to the massive spending cuts initiated by the oil companies' (ORIG) :

Co announces the following fleet update: The Ocean Rig Olympia has successfully started its new contract in Angola as of August 15. The rig is expected to move to the Ivory Coast for one well in 4Q15 and return to Angola to complete its remaining contract until June 2016.

The Ocean Rig Skyros has successfully started its new six year contract in Angola as of October 1. The Eirik Raude is currently completing its third well in a six-well program in the Falklands and is now expected to remain employed in the Falkland Islands into January 2016.

"The market continues to remain challenging due to the massive spending cuts initiated by the oil companies. In this environment, cash preservation and liquidity remain our number one priority and we will adjust our available capacity to the new market conditions. For rigs that we cannot secure long-term employment that are coming up for their 5-year SPS we will cold stack the units and in the case of the semisubmersible rigs seriously consider all our options including disposal or scrapping."

4:03 pm Allscripts Healthcare announces a management shuffle, whereby CFO Rick Poulton will be promoted to President, and the company will begin search for a new CFO (MDRX) :

Co reports that Chief Financial Officer Rick Poulton will be promoted to President, responsible for day-to-day operational leadership. He will continue to report to Chief Executive Officer Paul Black, who has held the dual position of President and CEO since joining the Company in December 2012. 

• Co has commenced a search for a new CFO, and Poulton will maintain the CFO title and responsibilities until a new CFO is appointed.

4:03 pm Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton comes out against Obama TPP trade plan (EWJ) : Politico story.

4:02 pm Sunesis Pharma announces Chief Medical Officer, Adam R. Craig will step down; plans to submit MAA for vosaroxin as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia with the EMA by the end of 2015 (SNSS) :

Co. intends to submit a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for vosaroxin as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (:AML) with the European Medicines Agency (:EMA) by the end of 2015. 

• The company recently announced that it met separately with the Rapporteur (United Kingdom) and Co-Rapporteur (Netherlands) assigned to provide advice and guidance to the company through the MAA process. Based on these discussions, the company is proceeding with an MAA filing for the indication of relapsed/refractory AML in patients age 60 years and older, a population with the greatest medical need and for whom the greatest benefit was observed in the vosaroxin/cytarabine treatment arm of VALOR, the company's pivotal Phase 3 study of vosaroxin and cytarabine in adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML.
• Dr. Adam R. Craig to step down as CMO at the EOY to pursue other opportunities. Co has begun a search for replacement, but no timeline has been set.

4:02 pm Hawaiian Holdings reports September 2015 traffic, showing RPMS of 1.182 bln, up 2.3% Y/Y (HA) :

SEPTEMBER

• Passengers Transported (:PAX) +3.1% y/y
• Revenue Passernger Miles  +2.3% y/y
• Available Seat Miles +2.8% y/y
  
• Load Factor (0.4) pts 

THIRD QUARTER

• PAX +4.6% y/y
• RPMS +2.7%
• ASMS +3.6%
  LF (0.7) pts

The Company has revised its expectations provided in its Second Quarter Earnings Release on July 28, 2015.

• The Company now expects its costs per available seat mile (ASM) excluding fuel for the quarter ending September 30, 2015 to improve relative to prior guidance.
• Also, the Company's operating revenue per ASM for the quarter ending September 30, 2015 is on the favorable end of the prior guidance range.
• Cost per ASM +1.5-2.5% (Prior +2.5-5.5%)
• Operating Revenue per SASM -4.5 to -5.5% (Prior -4 to -7%)
• Economic fuel cost per gallon $1.93-1.98 (Prior $2.00-2.10)

4:01 pm Solar Capital announces a $30 million repurchase program (SLRC) : The co announced that its board of directors has authorized a new program for the purpose of repurchasing up to $30 million worth of its common stock. Unless amended or extended by the co's board of directors, the co expects the repurchase program to be in place until the earlier of October 7, 2016 or until $30 million of the co's outstanding shares of common stock have been repurchased. The co's board of directors authorized the new repurchase program because it believes the recent market volatility may cause the co's common stock to be undervalued from time to time

3:56 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) :

Today after the close look for the following companies to report:

• MG, RECN

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report:

• DPZ, ISCA

3:16 pm Stock indices slide back near and push off midday range highs -- Dow +63, S&P +8.9, Nasdaq Comp +26 (:TECHX) : The midday range highs for the S&P is at 1986/1985.  It recently pulled back to 1985 and edged slightly higher. 

3:14 pm Booz Allen Hamilton wins an $82.9 mln continuous diagnostics and mitigation contract task order, from the Department of Homeland Security (BAH) : The order expands the scope of Booz Allen's work with DHS to implement tools and approaches to identify and strengthen vulnerabilities in the cyber environments of six Federal agencies. The contract is valued at $82.9 mln over three years. 

2:28 pm Elbit Medical Imaging reports that Insightec Ltd. informed the company, that its Exablate system has been approved by the FDA for symptomatic uterine fibroids (EMITF) :

The FDA changed the labeling to allow consideration for women who desire to maintain fertility. The updated labeling specifies that ablation of uterine fibroid tissue can now be considered for women with symptomatic uterine fibroids, who desire to retain fertility and spare their uterus.

• Elbit holds ~82.7% of the share capital of Elbit Medical Technologies, which, in turn, holds ~29.6% of the share capital in InSightec

2:06 pm Small-/Mid-Caps and the previously underperforming Nasdaq Comp +40 have pushed above first hour highs -- Dow +103, S&P +15 (:TECHX) :  

2:02 pm NN Inc reports having a committed financing structure to close its Precision Engineered Products acquisition, expecting closing before the end of October, 2015 (NNBR) :  

1:50 pm U.S. Silica delivers a 'record-breaking' 150-car unit train carrying over 16,500 tons of U.S. Silica White frac sand from Ottawa, IL to a transload facility serving the Permian Basin (SLCA) :  

1:19 pm 3M enters into a licensing agreement with Lotus Applied Technology to use Lotus's TransFlexALD spatial Atomic Layer Deposition, and barrier materials patent portfolio (MMM) :  

1:04 pm PharMerica reaches a voluntary civil settlement with the Department of Justice, will pay $9.25 mln (PMC) : The co announced that it has reached a voluntary civil settlement with the Department of Justice related to a previously disclosed investigation into allegations that, during the January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2008 time period, certain of the Company's agreements with the manufacturer of the pharmaceutical Depakote violated the False Claims Act or the Anti-Kickback Statute. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, PharMerica has agreed to pay $9.25 million to the federal government and the various plaintiff states. The Company is fully reserved for that amount.

1:01 pm Index Changes Reminder: The following changes will be effective tonight after the close of trading (:INDXCH) :

• S&P500 constituent Joy Global (JOY) will replace Thoratec (THOR) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Verisk Analytics (VRSK)will replace JOY in the S&P 500
• S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Cyberonics (CYBX)will replace Home Properties (HME) in the S&P MidCap 400, andRuckus Wireless (RKUS) will replace CYBX in the S&PSmallCap 600

12:55 pm Midday Market Summary: Little Changed (:WRAPX) :

The major averages are little changed at midday after sliding from their opening highs. The Nasdaq Composite hovers near its flat line while the S&P 500 (+0.1%) trades a bit ahead.

Equity indices began the midweek affair on a higher note after the overnight session featured another rally in Europe, which followed the release of disappointing economic data in Germany. Domestically, the key indices notched their highs during the opening hour, but they have backed away from those levels due to losses in a few influential sectors. Most notably, the top-weighted technology sector (-0.5%) has struggled since the early going, dragging the market down with it. Large sector components like Apple (AAPL 109.63, -1.68), Alphabet (GOOGL 660.57, -11.07), and Microsoft (MSFT 46.38, -0.37) hold losses between 0.8% and 1.7% while high-beta chipmakers have shown some relative strength. The PHLX Semiconductor Index remains higher by 0.2% with roughly half of its components trading in the green.

Elsewhere, the consumer discretionary sector (-0.3%) has also contributed to the pullback from early highs. A large portion of that weakness is due to a 17.8% dive in Yum! Brands (YUM 68.59, -14.83) after the company reported below-consensus results and issued guidance well below analyst expectations.

Also of note, the energy sector (+0.1%) had been up as much as 2.0% at the start, but the sector now trades near its flat line due to an intraday slide in crude oil futures. Currently, WTI crude is little changed at $48.47/bbl after hitting a session high near $49.70/bbl. The pullback in oil has taken place after the release of the latest inventory data, which showed a large build.

Treasuries have spent the first half of the day in the red with the 10-yr yield up two basis points at 2.06%.

Economic data reported this morning was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, which surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline.

The Consumer Credit report for August will cross the wires at 15:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus $19.50 billion).

12:06 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (61) outpacing new lows (37) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AIZ, BNCL, BOFI, BRSS, BWXT, CAM, CDW, COKE, COR, CORE, CSFL, ECL, EPAM, EQC, ESSA, FBC, FCN, FNFG, FOXF, GPN, HDB, HPY, HTBI, IM, IOSP, JCOM, JE, JKHY, JNPR, LGIH, LMT, MRGE, MSEX, NKSH, NVDA, OSIS, POOL, PPBI, PRK, PRMW, PULB, QTS, RAI, RKUS, RVSB, SNX, STZ, STZ.B, SYKE, TBK, TECD, TOWN, UCBA, UVE, VLRS, VSAT, VVI, WDFC, WHLM, WK, XUE 

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AEGR, ARO, BSI, CCCR, CDZI, CNOB, COSI, EARS, GPRO, HGSH, IDSA, KKD, LITE, LNTH, MDVX, MGLN, NCQ, NNBR, NTRA, NUS, PCRX, PRGN, REDF, RMGN, SAAS, SLI, SMRT, TCS, TDOC, TDY, TNDM, TWER, VDTH, VSCP, WILC, WMGI, ZSAN

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none

11:57 am Stock indices extend push off pullback low -- Dow +39, S&P +4, Nasdaq Comp +8 (:TECHX) :  

11:54 am New Supply (BONDX) :

Treasury Auction Preview

• $21 bln 10-year auction -- reopening (results at 13:00 ET)
  
  • Prior auction results:
    
    • High yield: 2.235%
      
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.70
      
    • Indirect bid: 57.5%
      
    • Direct bid: 13.8%
      
  • Average results of prior 12 auctions:
    
    • High yield: 2.186%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.43
      
    • Indirect bid: 55.3%
      
    • Direct bid: 11.1%

11:52 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:+0.2%
• Germany's DAX:+0.7%
• France's CAC:+0.1%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.5%
• Portugal's PSI:+0.6%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.8%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-1.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: +1.4%

11:43 am Currency Commentary: Choppy Trade (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index is rolling over from the 95.70 area dropping approx 30 pips to slide towards session lows (95.32). The DXY is seeing choppy trade within a tight range today. It has, in general been a slow day of macro news, suggesting that tech trading continues to dominate intraday moves. One item of interest, China released its latest FX reserve data last night, posting a $43 bln drop in reserves from the prior month. This compares to a record decline of $94 bln in the prior month. This suggests China's intervention in the yuan is starting to slow as it moves through its attempt to devalue the yuan. The market focus will turn to tomorrows FOMC minutes as participants want to see how intense the debate for a rate hike was between committee members.
• The euro is chopping in the 1.1215-1.1285 area today. Currencies continue to see a volatile consolidation this week as market participants readdress positions. German Industrial production fell 1.2% from the prior month which helped lead to a decline earlier. But there is certainly a general lack of conviction in the markets at the moment.
• The pound has climbed back above the 1.53 level and is holding its gains. This has been the most aggressive move by sterling off the 1.5150 support level and it is now testing its 200 sma (1.5320). Cable has been boosted by a better than expected Manufacturing and Industrial production number.
• The yen has seen a bid after the Bank of Japan held steady on its current monetary policy. After a slew of week economic data and with growing fears of China devaluing its yuan, there was expectations that the Bank of japan would increase its current QE program. That did not happen in its meeting though which has helped boost the yen above 120. However, its gains have been limited as it continues to hold in a tight trading range. Focus will now turn to the central banks meeting at the end of the month when it will update its economic outlook (BONDX, FOREX). 

11:33 am Energy stocks (XLE -0.5%) leading to the downside (E&P XOP -2.5%, Services OIH -1% vs. SPY -0.1%) as crude oil (-0.6%) rolls over following larger than expected inventory build (XLE) :  

11:28 am Natl Oilwell Varco reports that a federal jury has rendered it a favorable verdict, in an employment discrimination lawsuit that sought $120 mln in damages (NOV) : The lawsuit alleged that non-African-Americans got raises and promotions that were denied to the plaintiffs, in addition to claiming that racial slurs were frequently used in the workplace. However, the jury found that the company had not violated the rights of the plaintiffs; seven former NOV employees and one current NOV employee.

11:28 am Dow -20 and S&P -3 join Nasdaq Comp -17 in the red and at new session lows (:TECHX) :  

11:09 am Further declines off morning highs/resistances with the Nasdaq 100/Comp -3.9 reaching the red -- Dow +29, S&P +3 (:TECHX) :  

10:54 am Stock indices extend pullback off morning highs/resistances -- Dow +62, S&P 6.7, Nasdaq Comp +1 (:TECHX) : Major averages stalled near resistances noted at 10:11 with follow through noted in recent trade. Intraday for the S&P watching 1984 and 1979 with a posture above limited damage to the short term firmer bias.

10:36 am Major averages slip back off highs after probing resistances -- Dow +127, S&P +14, Nasdaq Comp +27 (:TECHX) : Noted the flirtation with resistance in the 10:11 update with some slippage noted amid relative sector weakness in Crude Oil USO, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH.

10:15 am Pure Storage opens for trading at $16.74 after pricing IPO at $17 (PSTG) :  

10:11 am Major indices extend to new highs and pause Dow +149, S&P +16, Nasdaq Comp +29 (:TECHX) : The top performing Dow (led by CSCO, BA, CVX, MMM, INTC, GS, GE, XOM) has paused after probing its Sep high/range top at 16933 (session high 19654). The S&P has probed its 50 day sma and psych level at 1998/2000 (session high 1998) while the Nasdaq Comp has stalled after slightly breaching Monday's rebound high at 4785 (session high 4788).

10:08 am Chembio Diagnostics awarded a grant from the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program to develop a POC test to identify multiple life-threatening febrile illnesses (CEMI) : Under the 12-month, $2.1 million dollar grant, Chembio will use its patented Dual Path Platform technology to develop a POC multiplex assay to simultaneously detect Malaria, Dengue, Ebola, Lassa, Marburg, and Chikungunya.

10:04 am Aclaris Therapeutics opens for trading at $11.94 after pricing IPO at $11 (ACRS) :  

9:49 am Acorda Therapeutics will present new data from a Phase 1 clinical trial of rHIgM22, and five-year post-marketing safety data on Ampyra at the 31st Congress of ECTRIMS (ACOR) :  

9:49 am S&P +16 slightly exceeds the Aug-Oct close high at 1995, nears its 50 day sma and psych level at 1998/2000 -- session high 1996.43 (:TECHX) :  

9:48 am American Airlines to replace Con-Way (CNW) in the Dow Jones Transportation Average after the close of trading on Wednesday, October 14 (AAL) :  

9:46 am RSP Permian prices upsized offering of 7.6 mln shares at $25.50/share (RSPP) : The co had initially planned to offer 6 mln shares

9:46 am Nasdaq Comp +29 joins Dow +134 and S&P +14 at new session highs (:TECHX) :  

9:46 am Scotts Miracle-Gro announces an unregistered offering of $300 mln in senior notes due 2023 (SMG) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay borrowings under its senior secured credit facility.

9:44 am Top performing sectors (:TECHX) : The best performing sectors on a percentage basis include: Coal KOL, Steel SLX, Oil Service OIH, Casino (MPEL +6.8, WYNN +4.6%, LVS +3.6%, MGM+2.3%), Solar TAN, Mining XME, Semi SMH / XSD (TSM, MU, AMKR, LSCC, LRCX, AMAT, KLAC, MCHP, INTC). Energy XLE, Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Crude Oil USO.

9:42 am Airlines weak as crude oil extends gains, nears break out up 2% (JETS) : RJET -1.8%, ALK -1.1%, JBLU -1.1%, VA -1%, SKYW -0.7%, HA -0.7%, UAL -0.7%, DAL -0.5%, LUV -0.3%

9:40 am Opening Market Summary: Dow Jones Paces Opening Advance (:WRAPX) :

The major averages have climbed out of the gate with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8%) setting the pace for the second consecutive day.

Similar to yesterday, biotechnology has not taken part in the early rally with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 298.50, -3.41) trading lower by 1.1% at this time. Meanwhile, the health care sector trades lower by 0.4% while seven of the remaining nine groups trade in the green.

Once again, the energy sector (+2.4%) trades well ahead of its peers. The growth-sensitive sector has drawn early strength from crude oil, which has climbed 1.9% to $49.42/bbl.

Elsewhere, Treasuries remain just above their lowest levels of the day with the 10-yr yield up three basis points at 2.07%.

9:39 am Republic Airways confirms complaint filed by Delta (DAL), believes it is not in breach of any of its capacity purchase agreements (RJET) : The co announced it has been made aware of a complaint filed by Delta (DAL). The Company has not been served and has not received the full complaint and therefore cannot comment further on the matter at this time. Republic can confirm that the Company is not in breach of any of its capacity purchase agreements with any of its mainline partners, including both Delta Connection Agreements.

9:38 am Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics treats the final patient in its multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial investigating its NurOwn stem cell technology (BCLI) :  

9:38 am Solid opening bias extended in the top performing Dow +117 and S&P +12 -- Nasdaq Comp +17 lagging again (:TECHX) :  

9:35 am Exxon Mobil gaps higher and probes its July low / breakdown point and Aug peak at 78.97/79.26 -- session high 79.20 (XOM) :  

9:34 am Opko Health presented clinical data on its long-acting human growth hormone (hGH-CTP) (OPK) : Highlights from the top-line analysis include: there were no patient withdrawals from the study; there were no reports of drug-related serious or unexpected adverse events; there were no clinically significant local tolerability issues; and there were no hGH-CTP neutralizing antibodies.

9:32 am Freeport-McMoRan entered agreement with Carl C. Icahn and his affiliates - Andrew Langham and Courtney Mather have been appointed to FCX's Board of Directors (FCX) : With these additions, the FCX Board is comprised of eleven directors, nine independent directors and two executive directors.

9:31 am Tecogen forms advisory group to explore immediate and future market applications of its patented natural gas engine emissions reduction technology to the gasoline vehicle market (TGEN) :  

9:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• JetPay Payment Services, a division of JetPay (JTPY) announced the addition of Thomas Tesmer as Chief Operating Officer
• AllianceBernstein's (AB) private middle market lending platform and HudsonField announced a new financing program for oil and gas operators in key North
  American production basins. HudsonField will serve as a strategic origination partner for financing opportunities in the North American oil and gas sector for AB Private Credit Investors. AB Private Credit Investors currently has ~$2.0 billion of capital available to invest and focuses on directly originating secured debt opportunities, including senior, unitranche and second lien loans.

9:29 am Alcoa receives a contract to supply titanium for Lockheed Martin's (LMT) F-35 Lightning II aircraft program; has an estimated value of ~$1.1 bln (AA) : Under the contract, Alcoa becomes the titanium supplier for airframe structures for all three variants of the F-35 over nine years, from 2016 to 2024

9:26 am Yum! Brands on Q3 Conference Call: China Division Initial-Color (YUM) :

• KFC China:
  • Is testing new, simplified menu boards in an attempt to drive revenues
• Pizza Hut China: 
  • Recent promos have not performed on-par with historical norms
  • Weekday dinner results have recently been particularly weak
• Notes 
  • Co stated that it will not discuss strategic options at this time, but that the Board is always continuously evaluating options to enhance shareholder value

9:22 am Electronics For Imaging acquires Corrugated Technologies; terms not disclosed (EFII) : Corrugated Technologies is a provider of manufacturing execution software for the corrugated packaging market. While financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, it is not expected to be material to EFI's Q4 or full year 2015 results.

9:21 am General Electric launches Current, which will integrates its LED, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle businesses (GE) : The co announced Current, powered by GE, an energy company that integrates GE's LED, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle businesses with its industrial strength Predix platform to identify and deliver the most cost effective, efficient energy solutions required by customers today and in the future. Maryrose Sylvester, who as President and CEO at GE Lighting has led the transformation of one of the company's most iconic businesses, will lead the new enterprise. Current will begin with more than $1 billion of revenue

9:18 am Targa Resources Partners commences an offering of Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units; size and terms not disclosed (NGLS) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to reduce borrowings under its senior secured credit facility, and will use any remaining proceeds for general partnership purposes, which may include repaying other indebtedness, redeeming or repurchasing some of its outstanding notes, working capital and funding capital expenditures and acquisitions.

9:15 am Booz Allen Hamilton selected as the prime contractor for the U.S. General Services Administration FEDSIM, $937 mln global threat mitigation program (BAH) :  

9:10 am S&P futures vs fair value: +10.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +31.50. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a higher open with S&P 500 futures trading ten points above fair value after enjoying a steady rally overnight.

The pre-market advance in futures has coincided with strength in European markets with the latter taking place despite the release of more disappointing economic data. Today, manufacturing data from Germany has disappointed with August Industrial Production (-1.2% month-over-month; +0.2% expected) coming in below estimates following yesterday's below-consensus August Factory Orders report (-1.4% month-over-month; +0.5% expected).

Domestically, the early morning action has been fairly subdued with investors receiving just a few earnings reports. Yum! Brands (YUM 70.52, -12.90) is on track to open lower by 15.5% after reporting below-consensus results and issuing guidance well below analyst expectations.

On the economic front, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline while the Consumer Credit report for August will cross the wires at 15:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus $19.50 billion).

Treasuries hover near their overnight lows with the 10-yr yield up four basis points at 2.08%.

9:10 am Millicom International Cellular acquires 24% stake in Helios Towers Africa (MIICF) : As a result of the reorganisation, Millicom will exchange shares which were previously held in HTA's tower companies in Ghana, DRC and Tanzania, into shares in HTA's parent company.

9:08 am Plains GP Hldgs and Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) increase their distributions to $0.231/share and $0.70/unit respectively (PAGP) : Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) increased its quarterly cash distribution to $0.70/unit (up from $0.695/share Q/Q) and Plains GP Hldgs increased its quarterly cash distribution to $0.231/share (up from $0.227/share Q/Q)

9:07 am Republic Bancorp to acquire Cornerstone Bancorp for ~$32.3 mln (RBCAA) : As of September 30, 2015, Cornerstone, which began operations in 1999, had total assets of approximately $243 million with total loans of approximately $183 million and total deposits of approximately $206 million.

9:05 am TJX announces Board approval for a CEO succession plan, with intention to elect Ernie Herrman as CEO at the beginning of FY16 (TJX) :

• Co announces that its Board of Directors has approved a CEO succession plan. The Board intends to elect Ernie Herrman to the position of CEO, effective at the beginning of the Company's next fiscal year, January 31, 2016. Herrman will also retain his current title as President of the Company.
• Herrman has been President of The TJX Companies since January 2011.

9:04 am ContraVir Pharma prices its public offering of 5 mln shares of its common stock and warrants at $3.00/share (CTRV) : The warrants will be exercisable for a period of five years following the issuance thereof at an exercise price of $4.25 per share.

9:02 am Sterling Construction's road and highway builders affiliate awarded a $13.9 mln Hawaii Department of Transportation project (STRL) :

• Co announces that its affiliate, Road and Highway Builders was awarded a $13.9 mln Hawaii Department of Transportation project to perform reconstruction work on the King Kamanhameha Highway on the North Shore of Oahu.
• The project is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2015 with a construction duration of ~1 year.

9:01 am Jaguar Animal Health announces results of a recently completed field study conducted in Wisconsin; believes the results further support the beneficial effects of Neonorm Calf (JAGX) :

Co announces results of a recently completed field study conducted in Wisconsin.

• Co believes the results further support the beneficial effects of Neonorm, Jaguar's lead non-prescription product.
• Following day one of treatment, 27.3% of treated calves achieved normalized stool formation, versus 19.4% of placebo-treated calves. Following day two of treatment, 63.6% of treated calves achieved normalized stool formation, versus 60.2% of placebo-treated calves, and, following day three of treatment, 85.9% of treated calves achieved normalized stool formation, versus 83.7% of placebo-treated calves.
  • Each of the results achieved borderline statistical significance.

8:59 am Trinseo reshuffles management, names Martin Pugh as Chief Operating Officer (TSE) : Among the changes, Martin Pugh, Senior Vice President and Business President for Performance Materials, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Tim Stedman will join Trinseo as Senior Vice President and Business President, Basic Plastics and Feedstocks. Stedman was most recently Business Director, Basic Chemicals, at ExxonMobil Chemical. Hayati Yarkadas will join Trinseo as Senior Vice President and Business President, Performance Materials. Yarkadas was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager, Europe, for Tate & Lyle

8:58 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Capstone Turbine (CPST) recently received multiple orders from E-Finity Distributed Generation for microturbines to be used for oil and gas operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions
• TICC Capital (TICC) issued a presentation entitled "Clear Choice: TICC's Agreement with BSP is Far Superior to TPG BDC's Self-Serving Proposal," to provide institutional stockholders with additional details around the the proposal from TPG Specialty Lending (TSLX)
• Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) announced new and continuing collaborations with three drug discovery partners funded by the Wellcome Trust. For the British Columbia Cancer Agency, the co will begin a new project providing chemistry/computer-aided drug design, biochemical and cell assays, and in vitro and in vivo DMPK studies to improve radiotherapy treatments for cancer. For Antabio, co will begin a new project developing a novel drug for infections in cystic fibrosis patients with project management, CADD, and medicinal and synthetic chemistry input. For Pcovery, co will continue providing CADD and medicinal and synthetic chemistry support to develop antifungal treatments with the potential to destroy otherwise drug-resistant fungi.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) expanded its offering of NOOK by Samsung (SSNLF) devices and announced a special promotion to help customers trade up to one of its newest tablets. Co introduced the new 9.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK, and a new Trade-In/Trade-Up limited-time in-store promotion, to offer significant credits of up to $200 towards the purchase of a tablet
• Speed Commerce (SPDC) announced it will transfer its listing to the NASDAQ Capital Market from the NASDAQ Global Market, on October 8, 2015
• InterDigital (IDCC) announced that the company has entered into a research and development agreement with the University of South Florida. The agreement is primarily focused around 5G technologies, with the first statement of work to be entered into under the agreement relating to spectral efficient waveforms and MIMO techniques

8:53 am S&P futures vs fair value: +11.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +33.00. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade 11 points above fair value.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region stayed on their rally track Wednesday, bolstered by the rebound in oil prices, which lifted energy stocks, and continued enthusiasm over the idea that the Federal Reserve will not raise rates in the near term. On a related note, the Bank of Japan kept its key policy rate unchanged at 0.10%, as expected. Japan's Nikkei faltered early Wednesday, but rallied late to finish with a 0.8% gain. China's stock market remained closed for holiday, but will re-open Thursday after a seven-day closure.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's August Leading Index -1.5% month-over-month (prior -1.7%) and Coincident Indicator -0.6% (prior -0.2%)
  • Australia's September AIG Construction Index 51.9 (prior 53.8)

------

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.8%, having rallied 1.6% over the final two hours of trading. Wednesday's gains were forged in the wake of the BOJ's expected decision to leave its key policy rate unchanged at 0.10%. Pacing the gains were the industrials (+2.2%), materials (+1.9%), and financials (+1.4%) sectors. OKUMA Corp (+8.7%), Mitsubishi Corp (+7.3%), and Inpex Corp (+7.2%) were the top-performing issues. Alps Electric (-3.7%), Toray Industries (-2.7%), and Chugai Pharmaceutical (-2.7%) were the biggest laggards. Out of the 225 index members, 178 ended higher, 44 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 3.1% and finished at its highs for the day. A huge boost in energy shares, which followed the spike in oil prices, helped power the advance. CNOOC (+13.7%), China Shenhua Energy (+9.3%), PetroChina (+9.2%), and Kunlun Energy (+8.5%) topped the list of Wednesday's winners. Sands China (-0.5%) led a very small group of losers. Out of the 50 index members, 46 ended higher and 4 finished lower.
• China's Shanghai Composite: closed for holiday (National Day)

Major European indices trade higher across the board despite the release of more disappointing economic news. For the second day in a row, manufacturing data from Germany has disappointed with Industrial Production coming in below estimates following yesterday's below-consensus Factory Orders report.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's August Industrial Production -1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 1.2%)
  • UK's August Industrial Production +1.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last -0.3%); +1.9% year-over-year (expected 1.2%; prior 0.7%). Separately, August Manufacturing Production +0.5% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.7%); -0.8% year-over-year (expected -0.1%; last -1.2%)
  • France's August Trade Deficit narrowed to EUR3.00 billion from EUR3.20 billion (expected deficit of EUR3.50 billion)
  • Spain's August Industrial Production +2.7% year-over-year (expected 4.6%; last 5.2%)

------

• UK's FTSE trades higher by 0.6% with roughly half of its components trading in the green. Miners lead with Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, and Glencore up between 5.2% and 9.7%. On the flip side, consumer and health care names lag with Hikma Pharmaceuticals, easyJet, International Consolidated Airlines, and Marks & Spencer down between 2.8% and 4.5%.
• In France, the CAC is higher by 0.8% amid strength in industrial names. ArcelorMittal has surged 9.2% while automakers Peugeot and Renault follow with respective gains of 4.4% and 7.3%. Financials have also shown strength with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale up between 0.6% and 2.7%.
• Germany's DAX has spiked 1.1% amid gains in most of its components. Volkswagen leads with a gain of 8.8% while peers BMW and Daimler hold respective gains of 4.6% and 4.0%. On the downside, drugmakers Bayer and Merck trade lower by 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.

8:47 am Nektar Therapeutics submits an IND application with the FDA for NKTR-214, with plans to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical study by the end of 2015 (NKTR) : The study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of NKTR-214 in patients with solid tumor malignancies and will include expansion cohorts that will evaluate NKTR-214 both as a single-agent and in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor.

8:40 am Acuity Brands beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (AYI) :

• Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $1.63 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.62; revenues rose 13.6% year/year to $759.5 mln vs the $754.23 mln consensus, due primarily to a 17 percent increase in sales volume, partially offset by the impact of a change in product prices and the mix of products sold of two percentage points and the impact of an unfavorable change in FX of ~1 % pt.
• "We remain very bullish about our prospects for future profitable growth. Third-party forecasts as well as key leading indicators suggest that the growth rate for the North American lighting market, which includes renovation and retrofit activity, will be in the mid-to-upper single digit range for fiscal 2016 with expectations that overall demand in our end markets will continue to experience solid growth over the next several years. Our order rates through the month of September reflect this favorable trend. Further, we expect to continue to outperform the growth rates of the markets we serve by executing our strategies to focus on growing renovation and tenant improvement projects, expand into underpenetrated geographies and channels, and grow from the continued introduction of new products and lighting solutions as part of our integrated, tiered solutions strategy."

8:32 am TransCanada announces an open season, to obtain binding commitments from interested parties for the transportation of crude oil on Cushing Marketlink (TRP) :

Co launched an Open Season to obtain binding commitments from interested parties for transportation of crude oil on Cushing Marketlink from Cushing, Oklahoma to markets on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

• The anticipated commencement date for crude oil transportation service is early Q1 2016

8:31 am Core-Mark and Murphy USA (MUSA) enter five year supply agreement for Core-Mark to be the primary wholesale distributor to Murphy USA, delivering over 75% of MUSA merchandise (CORE) :

Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA) and Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (CORE) announces a five year supply agreement whereby Co will be the primary wholesale distributor to MUSA, delivering over 75% of the merchandise sold in their stores.

• Services under this contract are expected to begin in 1Q16
• Estimated to generate ~$1.7 billion in annualized revs for Co while creating efficiencies and a strategic supply chain relationship for MUSA.

8:31 am RADA Electronic Industries receives orders for various avionics systems, worth $2.5 mln (RADA) : Co received multiple follow-on production and maintenance orders for various avionics systems installed onboard manned and un-manned aircraft, with a total value of $2.5M. Adding the $1.5M order for UAV avionics announced in July 2015, brings the total value of avionics systems' new orders, received during the third quarter of 2015, to over $4M.

8:31 am Evoke Pharma extends interest-only payment term with Square 1 Bank, provides preliminary cash estimate of $10.7 mln as of September 30 (EVOK) :

The co announced the amendment of its loan and security agreement with Square 1 Bank to extend the interest-only payment term for an additional 12 months.Under the terms of the amended credit facility, the interest-only payment period has been extended by 12 months. As a result of the 24-month repayment period now initiating in November 2016, it will decrease the Company's required debt payments by approximately $2.2 million for an additional year.

• Evoke had an estimated $10.7 million in cash as of September 30, 2015, an increase of $0.8 million from June 30, 2015. The Company now projects that its current cash resources should be sufficient to fund operations through October 2016.
• The company believes it has additional capital resources to support its near-term objectives of completing its ongoing Phase 3 trial enrollment in the first half of 2016

8:31 am VWR Corp has acquired Purification Technologies, specialty solvent company that performs high volume purification of selected high purity solvents; Financial details of this acquisition remain confidential (VWR) : Based in Chester, Connecticut and founded in 1998, PTI produces high purity solvents for analytical, biotechnology and agrochemical customers internationally.

8:29 am European Yields (BONDX) :

Greek 10-Year Yield Hits Fresh 2015 Low

• Denmark resumed its regular debt sales with 1-year and 10-year note auctions in a victory against speculators who bet against the country's currency peg earlier this year
  • The announcement of the European Central Bank's asset purchase program led many investors to believe that the euro would weaken against the krone
    
  • The Nordic country was forced to suspend bond sales in January to stem the tide of capital inflows
    
• Germany reopened its current on-the-run 10-yr Bund to raise another EUR 4 bln. The high yield was 0.620%
  
• German industrial output fell 1.2% m/m in August versus consensus expectations for a small gain. Industrial output saw an upwardly-revised gain of 1.2% in July
  
  • As with the weaker-than-expected factory order data released on Tuesday, the German Economy Ministry cited summer holidays as a factor in the miss
    
• Industrial production growth in Britain cruised past expectations, hitting 1% m/m in August after declining an upwardly-revised 0.3% in July
  
  • The U.K.'s manufacturing output, a more narrow measure than industrial production, grew by 0.5% m/m in August after falling an upwardly-revised 0.7% in July
    
• Spanish industrial production fell 1.4% m/m, missing expectations
  
• The European Central Bank lowered its cap on the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) program for Greek banks from EUR 88.9 bln to EUR 87.9 bln
  
  • The Greek 10-year yield is down 17 bps to 7.62%, its lowest level since December 2014
    
• Yield Check:
  
  • France, 10-yr OAT: -1 bp to 0.97%
    
  • Germany, 10-yr Bund: unch at 0.60%
    
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -18 bps to 7.61%
    
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: -1 bp to 1.69%
    
  • Portugal, 10-yr note: unch at 2.35%
    
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: -1 bp to 1.83%
    
  • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: +4 bps to 1.73%

8:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• GTT Communications (GTT) announced that it established a new Point-of-Presence in Hong Kong to provide multinational enterprises with extended network service in Asia
• Veritiv Corporation (VRTV) announced two key senior management appointments. Adam Taylor has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer; and Dave Hudson has been appointed Vice President and Chief Information Officer
• Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA) announced that the Zebra WLAN infrastructure is being deployed by Westmoreland Coal Company (WLB)
• Seabridge Gold (SA) announced results from two more core holes drilled into Deep Kerr at its KSM Project are substantially expanding the deposit in an area being evaluated for low cost, underground block cave mining. The holes are further step-outs down dip from the current resource limits. The holes drilled this year are confirming a high degree of continuity of mineralization over very considerable distances
• Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals (TTPH) announced that two data posters will be presented at IDWeek 2015 (on Friday, Oct. 9th) regarding the company's lead antibiotic candidate, Eravacycline
• Siemens AG (SIEGY) and Cohda Wireless announced they will collaborate in the area of Vehicle to Infrastructure. Under the agreement, Cohda Wireless will develop and produce RSUs for Siemens, enabling 'smart infrastructure' to communicate with connected vehicles.
• Varian (VAR) announced U.S. Clearance and the CE Mark for VitalBeam, in addition to reporting that Chirayu Medical College in Bhopal has acquired VitalBeam technology

8:24 am S&P futures vs fair value: +9.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +29.50. (:WRAPX) :

Equity index futures continue holding solid pre-market gains with S&P 500 futures hovering nine points above fair value.

Meanwhile, the Dollar Index (95.41, -0.04) is little changed as the greenback continues consolidating against other currencies. Last evening, the dollar retreated slightly against the yen after the Bank of Japan made no changes to its monetary policy, leaving its key interest rate at 0.10%. The dollar/yen pair fell from 120.30 to 119.85 in reaction to the news, but that loss has been cut in half, pushing the currency pair back up to 120.10, which has been an area of congestion as of late.

8:13 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: NEON -16.3%, (issues guidance; also prices its underwritten public offering of 3.2 mln shares of common stock at $1.90/share), YUM -15.4%, NUS -14.5%, MON -3.5%, RPM -3.1%, PAH -2.9%, ADBE -2.2%

Select pharma related names showing weakness: AZN -1.5%, TEVA -1.5%, SNY -1.4%, SHPG -1%

Other news: AXPW -55% (announced that the exclusivity period under its Binding Letter of Intent with LCB International expired; LCB has indicated an unwillingness to move forward with any deal structure that contemplates anything further than a technology license), ADXS -19.5% (reports Clinical Hold of Investigational Agent Axalimogene Filolisbac; expects hold to be resolved expeditiously and without significant interruption to the HPV clinical development program), CTRV -13.5% (announces offering of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock for an undisclosed amount ), RSPP -3.4% (commences an underwritten public offering of 6 mln shares of its common stock), SUNE -2.8% (cont volatility pre-mkt), AVXL -2.1% (announces a 1-for-4 reverse stock split in preparation for Nasdaq uplisting), MCD -1.4% (following YUM results), PBF -0.5% (prices public offering of 10 mln shares of class A common stock at $31 per share)

Analyst comments: GPRO -2.3% (target lowered to $35 from $62 at Morgan Stanley), TSLA -1.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird), JCP -1.8% (initiated with Sell at Citigroup)

8:12 am SABMiller plc rejects revised proposal from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) (SBMRY) : The company issued a statement saying that its Board has now met formally to consider the new proposal announced by AB InBev (BUD). The Board, excluding the directors nominated by Altria Group (MO), has unanimously rejected the GBP 42.15 Proposal as it believes the offer still very substantially undervalues SABMiller.

8:11 am European Markets Update: FTSE +0.6%, CAC +0.7%, DAX +1.1% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade higher across the board despite the release of more disappointing economic news. For the second day in a row, manufacturing data from Germany has disappointed with Industrial Production coming in below estimates following yesterday's below-consensus Factory Orders report.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's August Industrial Production -1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 1.2%)
  • UK's August Industrial Production +1.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last -0.3%); +1.9% year-over-year (expected 1.2%; prior 0.7%). Separately, August Manufacturing Production +0.5% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.7%); -0.8% year-over-year (expected -0.1%; last -1.2%)
  • France's August Trade Deficit narrowed to EUR3.00 billion from EUR3.20 billion (expected deficit of EUR3.50 billion)
  • Spain's August Industrial Production +2.7% year-over-year (expected 4.6%; last 5.2%)

------

• UK's FTSE trades higher by 0.6% with roughly half of its components trading in the green. Miners lead with Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, and Glencore up between 5.2% and 9.7%. On the flip side, consumer and health care names lag with Hikma Pharmaceuticals, easyJet, International Consolidated Airlines, and Marks & Spencer down between 2.8% and 4.5%.
• In France, the CAC is higher by 0.7% amid strength in industrial names. ArcelorMittal has surged 9.2% while automakers Peugeot and Renault follow with respective gains of 4.4% and 7.3%. Financials have also shown strength with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale up between 0.6% and 2.7%.
• Germany's DAX has spiked 1.1% amid gains in most of its components. Volkswagen leads with a gain of 8.8% while peers BMW and Daimler hold respective gains of 4.6% and 4.0%. On the downside, drugmakers Bayer and Merck trade lower by 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively.

8:09 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: GBX +1.8%, STZ +1.3%

M&A news: BUD +2.8% (increases offer to acquire SABMiller (SBMRY) for GBP42.15 per share),CYBR +1.4% (acquires privately held Viewfinity for $30.5 mln in cash; expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS for 2016)

Select China related names showing strength: SOHU +3.4%, CMCM +3%, WYNN +2.4%, YY +2.1%, QIHU +2.1%, HSBC +2%, WUBA +2%, YNDX +1.7%

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: MT +8.6%, HMY +5.4%, BBL +4.2%, BHP +3.8%, FCX +3.3%, AU +3.1%, VALE +3.1%, GOLD +2.9%, X +2.8%, AKS +2.5%, AA +1.9%

Select oil/gas related names showing strength: SDRL +5.9%, SD +4.8%, SSL +4.3%, BP +4.1%, DNR +3.9%, PBR +3.7%, TOT +3.5%, RIG +2.8%, RDS.A +2.7%, NE +2.5%, CHK +1.9%, COP +1.5%

Other news: MDCO +8.4% (co and SymBio Pharmaceuticals established a strategic partnership for IONSYS in Japan),DERM +5% (presents DRM01 Phase 2a trial data, showing the topline met all primary efficacy endpoints),CANF +3.6% (to deliver 2 presentations on its cancer drug CF102 on Oct 8-10 in Athens),AMRI +3% (extended Supply Agreement with GE Healthcare),CDE +2.5% (reported preliminary Q3 production of 3.8 mln ounces of silver and 85,658 ounces of gold, or 9.0 mln silver equivalent ounces; maintained FY15 production guidance),LINE +1.9% ( Linn Energy and LinnCo announces Board approval to suspend the companies' distribution and dividend, effective September 30, 2015),CLF +1.7% ( Terminates Pellet Supply Agreement with Essar Algoma ),EXAS +1.7% (modestly rebounding following yesterday's sell off),TWTR +1.4% (Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal discloses 5.17% passive stake in 13G filing),EXC +1.3% (late move higher on reports of DC announcement),POM +1.3% (late move higher on reports of DC announcement),PFE +1.3% (Pfizer and Merck KGaA (MKGAY) granted Fast Track designation by the FDA for avelumab for the treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma)

Analyst comments: RIO +8.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley),BHP +3.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley),CTRP +3.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill),MPC +2.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo),UBS +1.6% (upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill),MS +1.2% (upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts)

8:07 am Monsanto misses by $0.18, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus; announces new $3 bln buyback (MON) :

Reports Q4 (Aug) loss of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.18 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.01); revenues fell 10.5% year/year to $2.36 bln vs the $2.79 bln consensus.

• Monsanto announces new $3 billion accelerated share repurchase program under its current share repurchase authorization.
• Co announced FY15 results reflecting year-over-year ongoing earnings per share growth of 10% or ~ 17% on an ongoing currency neutral basis, despite the downturn in the agriculture cycle
• The performance of its global seeds and traits business, licensing agreements, and strong cost discipline were the biggest drivers of performance for the year.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16; with continuing industry headwinds, the co sees EPS of $5.10-5.60 vs. $6.24 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
• Growth from Core Seeds and Genomics Segment: The co expects mid-to-high single digit growth in gross profit, before estimated restructuring charges, from its core Seeds and Genomics segment in fiscal year 2016.
• This will be led by new global corn hybrid portfolio introductions, continued significant Intacta RR2 PRO adoption and additional licensing opportunities 
• Confirms five year plan to deliver more than double 2014 ongoing EPS by 2019, with more than 20 percent annual growth in ongoing EPS expected to begin as soon as FY17

8:05 am Pandora Media to acquire Ticketfly for $450 mln, confirming Re/Code reports (P) :

Pandora will acquire Ticketfly, a live events technology company. Ticketfly provides ticketing and marketing software for approximately 1,200 leading venues and event promoters across North America and makes it easy for fans to find and purchase tickets to events.

• The transaction is valued at approximately $450 million, subject to certain purchase price adjustments, with a nearly equal balance of cash and stock.

8:05 am Otonomy provides corporate update information highlighted at its Investor and Analyst Day; expects cash position with OTIPRIO revenues will fund planned operations into 2018 (OTIC) :

Key Takeaways from the Investor and Analyst Day

• Preparations for OTIPRIO's launch in the U.S. are progressing well. Otonomy expects to launch OTIPRIO in the U.S. in Q1 2016 assuming FDA approval on or before the December 25, 2015 PDUFA action date.
• Otonomy will pursue a paced plan for OTIPRIO's label expansion indications including the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with acute otitis externa and initiation of a second Phase 2 trial in patients with acute otitis media and tubes (:AOMT) expected in the first quarter of 2016.
• Design of the OTO-104 Phase 3 clinical trials in Mnire's disease has been finalized based on learnings from the Phase 2b study and discussions with the FDA held during an End-of-Phase 2 meeting. The U.S. Phase 3 trial is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2015 with the EU Phase 3 trial to start in the first quarter of 2016. Results from both trials are expected in the second half of 2017. FDA clearance has been received for the OTO-311 Investigational New Drug Application (IND), and initiation of a Phase 1 clinical safety trial is expected to begin before the end of 2015. OTO-311 is a single-dose treatment in development for tinnitus. Through corporate development activities, the company has secured rights to multiple potential product candidates for a fourth program targeting sensorineural hearing loss, the largest market opportunity within the otology field, and evaluations are ongoing regarding ex-U.S. partnering opportunities for Otonomy's current products.
• Otonomy expects that its strong cash position, together with OTIPRIO revenues, will fund planned operations into 2018.

8:05 am Ideal Power receives multi-unit purchase order from EnerDel, for its Grid-Resilient 30kW Multi-Port Power Conversion Systems; systems are scheduled to ship in Q4 2015 (IPWR) :  

8:05 am Genomic Health confirms the final pricing determination for its Oncotype DX breast cancer test, at the previously established rate of $3,416 (GHDX) : The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued updated pricing determinations for the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, including a payment rate of $3,416 for the Oncotype DX breast cancer test. The decision means the payment rate for the Oncotype DX breast cancer test will remain at the current contracted rate of $3,416 through 2016. In 2017, market-based rates under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act are expected to replace the current Medicare CLFS.

8:03 am Chimerix presents preliminary data on Brincidofovir in liver transplant recipients with adenovirus infections - seven of eight patients with disseminated adenovirus disease survived (CMRX) :

Co announces preliminary data from liver transplant patients who received brincidofovir for adenovirus infection through the ongoing AdVise trial and the brincidofovir expanded access program.

• All patients with adenovirus viremia or localized infection (n=5) survived; seven of eight patients with disseminated adenovirus disease survived. Two patients experienced serious brincidofovir-related adverse events (diarrhea and increased stool volume, respectively), and no brincidofovir-associated liver adverse events were reported. In ten of eleven patients for whom viral load data were available, adenovirus levels in blood were either below quantifiable levels or were undetectable by the end of treatment, with median time to minimum viral load of 15 days (range: 4 to 96 days).

8:03 am Seattle Genetics initiates a phase 1/2 clinical trial of Adcetris in combination with Opdivo for patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma after failure of frontline treatment (SGEN) :

• Co announces that it has initiated a phase 1/2 clinical trial of Adcetris in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) for patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma after failure of frontline treatment. The trial is being conducted under a previously announced clinical trial collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY).

8:01 am Lion Biotech obtains an exclusive, worldwide license from NIH, to develop and commercialize TIL therapy (LBIO) : Co announces that it has obtained an exclusive, worldwide license from the National Institutes of Health (:NIH) to develop and commercialize TIL therapy in four additional tumor indications. NIH has granted Lion exclusive rights to certain patents to develop TIL in the treatment of bladder, lung, breast and HPV-associated cancers, including cervical and head and neck. As consideration for the license, Lion will make an upfront payment to the NIH, payable half within 60 days of closing and the balance a year later.

8:01 am PriceSmart reports September comparable warehouse sales +3.2%; net sales +12.4% to $216.5 mln (PSMT) :  

8:00 am ManTech is awarded a $250 mln contract from the Department of Defense (MANT) :

Department of Defense awards Co contract to provide cyber range services to the Defense Information Systems Agency (:DISA) and United States Marine Corps (:USMC).

• The contract has a 1-year base period and 3 option years, with a value of $250 mln.
• Co has supported DISA and USMC cyber range exercises since 2009, and this award expands services and capabilities to enhance cyber workforce operational tactics, techniques, and procedures across agencies.

7:56 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) announced the company has received its first order for its FOX-XP Wafer Level Test and Burn-in System including multiple FOX-XP WaferPak Contactors and application development services.
• Rare Element Resources (REE) announced that it has completed the 2015 condemnation drill program at the planned physical upgrade plant site for the Bear Lodge Project. The program consisted of six reverse circulation drill holes for a total of 3,000 feet and geotechnical work that included six shallow holes and three test pits in the area of the PUG. The drill program confirmed the absence of meaningful mineralized material under the site while the program identified the characteristics of the soils for foundation design.
• Fred's (FRED) announced that John Foley has been named as EVP of Store Operations, effective October 7, 2015.

7:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: +10.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +32.00. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures hold solid pre-market gains after climbing steadily overnight. The S&P 500 futures hover ten points above fair value after hitting pre-market highs shortly after the start of the overnight session.

Meanwhile, Treasuries sit near their lows with the 10-yr yield up three basis points at 2.07%.

On the economic front, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index surged 25.5% to follow last week's 6.7% decline while the Consumer Credit report for August will be released at 15:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus $19.50 billion).

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Yum! Brands (YUM 70.75, -12.67): -15.2% after reporting below-consensus results and issuing guidance well below analyst expectations.
• Constellation Brands (STZ 134.99, +3.67): +2.8% after beating bottom-line estimates and raising its earnings guidance above consensus estimates.
• RPM International (RPM 42.00, -1.35): -3.1%in reaction to disappointing results and lowered guidance.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng +3.1%, Japan's Nikkei +0.8%, and China's Shanghai Composite remained closed for Golden Week.
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's August Leading Index -1.5% month-over-month (prior -1.7%) and Coincident Indicator -0.6% (prior -0.2%)
    • Australia's September AIG Construction Index 51.9 (prior 53.8)
  • In news:
    • The Bank of Japan made no changes to its monetary policy, leaving the key interest rate at 0.10%

• Major European indices trade higher across the board. Germany's DAX +1.1%, France's CAC +0.7%, and UK's FTSE +0.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.2% and Spain's IBEX +0.8%
  • Participants received several data points:
    • Germany's August Industrial Production -1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 1.2%)
    • UK's August Industrial Production +1.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last -0.3%); +1.9% year-over-year (expected 1.2%; prior 0.7%). Separately, August Manufacturing Production +0.5% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.7%); -0.8% year-over-year (expected -0.1%; last -1.2%)
    • France's August Trade Deficit narrowed to EUR3.00 billion from EUR3.20 billion (expected deficit of EUR3.50 billion)
    • Spain's August Industrial Production +2.7% year-over-year (expected 4.6%; last 5.2%)
  • Among news of note:
    • Today's session has featured more disappointing data from Europe with Germany's Industrial Production coming in below estimates following yesterday's below-consensus Factory Orders report.

7:45 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) :

Yields Rise as Global Equities Rally

• The U.S. Treasury market gave back its Tuesday afternoon gains overnight as the global risk rally rolled on, with the losses concentrated in the longer maturities. WTI crude is up 2.06% to $49.53 and the U.S. Dollar Index is unchanged at 95.46. The S&P 500 futures are indicating an open at 1,990.9, up 0.5% from Tuesday's close
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: +1 bp to 0.61%
    
  • 5-yr: +3 bps to 1.36%
    
  • 10-yr: +4 bps to 2.07%
    
  • 30-yr: +4 bps to 2.91%

• International News:
  
  • San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in a speech Tuesday afternoon that "it shouldn't be the case that no one is expecting a rate increase" when the FOMC finally decides to lift off
    
    • Fed fund futures are now expecting the first rate hike in March, so FOMC members will have to do significant jawboning to get markets ready for a rate hike by the end of 2015
      
    • Williams went on to say that "we are essentially at full employment" and that since the FOMC's September meeting, consumer spending has exceeded his expectations
      
    • He again referred to a strong housing market and mentioned that "the price-to-rent ratio is where it was in 2003, and house prices are rapidly rising"
      
  • German industrial output fell 1.2% m/m in August versus consensus expectations for a small gain. Industrial output saw an upwardly-revised gain of 1.2% in July
    
    • As with the weaker-than-expected factory order data released on Tuesday, the German Economy Ministry cited summer holidays as a factor in the miss
      
  • Industrial production growth in Britain cruised past expectations, hitting 1% m/m in August after declining an upwardly-revised 0.3% in July
    
    • Strong automobile production after July shutdowns and the energy sector contributed to the beat
      
    • The U.K.'s manufacturing output, a more narrow measure than industrial production, grew by 0.5% m/m in August after falling an upwardly-revised 0.7% in July
      
  • Spanish industrial production fell 1.4% m/m, worse than expectations
    
  • The European Central Bank lowered its cap on the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) program for Greek banks from EUR 88.9 bln to EUR 87.9 bln
    
    • In a statement, the Greek central bank said that the reduction was in response to improving prospects for Greek banks including stabilization in deposits
      
  • The Bank of Japan met and maintained its current JPY 80 tln/year asset purchase program
    
    • The accompanying statement said that the Japanese economy continues to recover "moderately, although exports and production are affected by the slowdown in emerging economies."
      
    • 42% of economists expect an expansion of the program at the BoJ's October 30th meeting, according to a Bloomberg survey
      
    • The BoJ will release new forecasts for output and inflation at that meeting

• Data Out Today:
  
  • MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 10/03 (07:00 ET)
    
  • Crude Inventories for the week ending 10/03 (10:30 ET)
    
  • August Consumer Credit (15:00 ET)
    
• Treasury Auction:
  
  • $21 bln 10-year auction -- reopening (results at 13:00 ET)

7:38 am Constellation Brands beats by $0.24, reports revs in-line; raises FY16 EPS above consensus (STZ) :

• Reports Q2 (Aug) earnings of $1.56 per share (driven by beer business and favorable quarterly tax rate, excluding non-recurring items), $0.24 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.32; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $1.73 bln vs the $1.73 bln consensus. 
  • For the quarter, the co generated consolidated organic net sales growth on a constant currency basis of nine percent.
  • Beer net sales increased 14%, primarily due to volume growth. Beer depletions grew 10 percent, reflecting strong consumer demand for the beer portfolio.
  • Wine and spirits net sales on an organic constant currency basis increased three percent. This primarily reflects volume growth within the spirits portfolio. 
• Co issues upside guidance for FY16, raises adj. EPS to $5.00-5.20 from $4.80-5.00 vs. $4.98 Capital IQ Consensus, driven primarily by strong beer business results
  • For fiscal 2016, the beer business continues to expect net sales growth of ~10% but now expects operating income growth in the 15 - 18% range.
  • For the wine and spirits business, the co continues to expect net sales and operating income growth to be in the low-to-mid single- digit range before any benefit from the Meiomi acquisition. 

7:36 am Neonode prices its underwritten public offering of 3.2 mln shares of common stock at $1.90/share (NEON) : Per Bystedt (Chairman), Thomas Eriksson (CEO), and Mats Dahlin, members of Neonode's Board of Directors, intend to purchase an aggregate of $300,000 of shares of common stock from the underwriter in the offering at the public offering price per share. Neonode anticipates using its net proceeds from the offering primarily for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and working capital.

7:32 am TICC Capital: Benefit Street Partners a sends letter to TICC shareholders, reiterating its agreement to acquire TICC Management (TICC) : Group stated: "We believe a tender offer or share repurchase program of between $50 million and $100 million would be in the best interests of TICC's stockholders. Subsequent to the Special Meeting and approval of the BSP transaction, we will recommend that the company undertake this initiative. BSP and affiliates intend to fund any tender offer. The purpose of such a program would be to immediately reduce or eliminate the market price discount of TICC's shares to net asset value."

7:32 am Adeptus Health closes on $175 mln in new senior secured credit facilities (ADPT) :

• The new senior credit facilities include a $50 mln revolving facility and a $125 mln term loan facility. Both facilities have five-year terms.

7:31 am AXIS Capital announces a restructuring initiative; anticipating a workforce reduction of ~100 positions, with the expectation of taking a reorganization charge of ~$51 mln in Q3 (AXS) :

Co announced initiatives designed to support profitable growth and enhance shareholder value. As a result of these initiatives, the co anticipates a workforce reduction of ~100 positions, primarily in its corporate and select insurance operations.

• The Company will wind down its retail insurance operations in Australia and continue to serve the Australian market through its international wholesale insurance and global reinsurance platforms. 
• The actions will result in a pre-tax reorganization charge of ~$51 million, or $0.51 per share during the third quarter of 2015, with anticipated annual run-rate pre-tax cost savings of ~$30 million to be substantially realized in 2016. The charge in the quarter includes staff severance and related costs, the write-off of certain information technology assets, and lease cancellation costs. In addition, co recognized an impairment of certain customer-based intangibles following the closure of its retail insurance operations in Australia.

7:31 am Dermira presents DRM01 Phase 2a trial data, showing the topline met all primary efficacy endpoints (DERM) :

Co announces the presentation of data for DRM01, a novel, topical sebum inhibitor in development for the treatment of acne.

• Topline data from the company's Phase 2a study showed that DRM01 met all of the primary efficacy endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant improvements relative to vehicle in the reduction of lesion counts and the proportion of patients who achieved a successful improvement in Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score at week 12.
• In addition, newly presented data suggest that a treatment difference in these endpoints was observed as early as the first efficacy assessment, which was conducted after four weeks of the 12-week treatment period.
• The most frequently reported adverse event was nasopharyngitis, which was reported in 13 (24.5%) of the patients treated with DRM01 and in 7 (12.7%) of the patients who received vehicle and which was considered unrelated to treatment.
• Co expects to announce topline data from its ongoing DRM01 Phase 2b study during the first half of 2016 based on current and projected rates of patient enrollment.

7:28 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Xenetic Biosciences (XBIO) announced that several of its major shareholders including Baxalta (BXLT), SynBio LLC and Serum Institute of India Limited have entered into Lock-up Letter Agreements. Under the Lock-up each of the shareholders has agreed to not sell any of its shares currently held before June 30, 2016 and then further to limit the sale of its shares in the Company for an additional six months (to December 2016) to a price of no less than $1.25 per share. The Lock-up covers more than 58% of the issued shares of co's common stock
  
• Invitae Corporation (NVTA) announced that it has more than doubled the size of its genetic testing platform to include more than 600 genes and will release the new content between now and the end of the year. The company is on target to reach its near-term goal of offering a test menu that includes more than 1,000 genes for under $1,000 per indication in the middle of 2016.
• MMA Capital Management (MMAC) announced that its subsidiary, MMA Energy Capital, closed a $55 million financing facility with Conergy to be used for the construction of its 36 MW North Carolina solar portfolio.

7:28 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Myriad Genetics (MYGN) announced that it has signed a three-year contract with Tufts Health Plan through which the plan will provide coverage of Prolaris for members diagnosed with localized prostate cancer. Prolaris is the first and only biopsy test validated against prostate cancer specific mortality
• Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) announced that data from a study evaluating the natural history of X-linked retinoschisis will be presented at The Retina Society 48th Annual Scientific Meeting. The presentation included results from 55 participants with XLRS and confirmed mutations in the retinoschisin gene. Preliminary data suggest that patients with XLRS show a spectrum of visual function, with baseline visual acuity ranging from 0 to 82 ETDRS letters. There was a weak correlation between decreased visual acuity and age
• AppDirect, a cloud service commerce company, announced that during the AppDirect Partner Summit that it has raised $140 million in funding led by an investment fund advised by J.P. Morgan (JPM), with participation from all existing institutional investors
• Five Prime Therapeutics (FPRX) announced that preliminary data from rheumatoid arthritis patients in part 3 of Five Prime's ongoing Phase 1 trial of FPA008 will be presented during the upcoming 2015 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Meeting

7:20 am Inventergy concludes agreement with holders of its preferred stock to exchange their Series A-1, Series A-2, and Series B Preferred Stock into shares of common stock (INVT) : Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will issue to such holders, in the aggregate, 5,379,492 shares of common stock. As part of the agreement, each exchanging holder has agreed with the Company to certain limitations on each holder's right to sell the shares issued in the exchange over at least the next four months.

7:15 am Neonode sees Q3 rev below consensus (NEON) :

• Co sees Q3 rev $2.9-3.1 mln vs $3.51 mln Capital IQ Consensus
• Neonode's expected Q3 revenue includes license fee revenue estimated to range from $2.0 million to $2.1 million, an increase of ~219% to 235% compared to same period in 2014, and non-recurring engineering (:NRE) revenue estimated to range from $0.9 million to $1.0 million, an increase of ~78% to 98% compared to the same period in 2014.
• In addition, Neonode announced that an All-in-One PC containing Neonode's zForce technology completed a preproduction build in Taiwan. Neonode believes this All-in-One PC will be the first of these large screen devices produced by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (:OEM) with Neonode technology to come to market.

7:13 am PacWest Bancorp completes acquisition of Square 1 Financial (SQBK); Combined entity has over $21 bln in assets (PACW) :  

7:07 am Corbus Pharma doses the first subject in the Phase 2 clinical study of Resunab for the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis; expects to report Top-Line Phase 2 data in systemic sclerosis at end of 2016 (CRBP) :  

7:05 am Benitec Biopharma and Lonza Houston enter into a Manufacturing Services Agreement to develop a scalable manufacturing process for Benitec's Adeno-Associated Virus-delivered products intended for therapeutic use in humans (BNTC) :  

7:05 am Can-Fite BioPharma to deliver 2 presentations on its cancer drug CF102 on Oct 8-10 in Athens (CANF) :

Co's Director of Molecular Biology Labs, Shira Cohen, will deliver the following two scientific presentations at the 20th World Congress on Advances in Oncology and 18th International Symposium on Molecular Medicine on October 8-10, 2015 in Athens, Greece:

• Presentation title: "The anti-liver cancer drug CF102 protects against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury" Date: Thursday, October 8th
• Presentation title: "CF102, an A3 Adenosine Receptor Agonist, from in vitro to clinical trials" Date: Friday, October 9th

7:04 am Pfizer and Merck KGaA (MKGAY) granted Fast Track designation by the FDA for avelumab for the treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (PFE) :

• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) has granted avelumab, an investigational fully human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, Fast Track designation for the treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive type of skin cancer. This announcement builds on the recent FDA Orphan Drug designation that was granted for avelumab on Sept 21, 2015 for the treatment of MCC.

7:03 am Global Payment beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides FY16 EPS above consensus (GPN) :

Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $1.57 per share, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.43; revenues rose 6.2% year/year to $748.8 mln vs the $740.37 mln consensus.

• Co raises guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $5.77-5.92 vs. $5.73 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 net revs of $2.06-2.10 bln. Co now expect annual fiscal 2016 core cash operating margins to expand by as much as 50 basis points on a constant currency basis.
• Co announces 2-for-1 stock split, payable on November 2, 2015 to all shareholders of record as of October 21, 2015.

7:02 am Genocea Biosciences announces positive durability data from its analysis of a Phase 2 clinical trial of GEN-003, used to treat genital herpes (GNCA) :

Co announced positive results from a planned interim analysis of data collected six months after dosing from its ongoing Phase 2 dose optimization trial evaluating GEN-003 for the treatment of genital herpes.

• At its best performing dose of 60 g per protein / 75 g of Matrix-M2TM adjuvant, GEN-003 demonstrated a statistically significant 58 percent reduction from baseline in the viral shedding rate (p
• A further secondary analysis measuring the time to first recurrence after completion of dosing showed a range of 152 days to greater than 180 days among dose groups. The Phase 2 trial continues to show that GEN-003 is safe and well tolerated by patients, with no serious adverse events related to the vaccine.
• Co stated: "We look forward to this data in the first quarter of 2016 and to advancing GEN-003 towards an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in late 2016."

7:02 am Immune Pharma submits an Investigational New Drug Application in the US, to expand recruiting for Bertilimumab, for the treatment of Bullous Pemphigoid (IMNP) : Immune recently initiated a Phase IIa open label clinical trial in BP in Israel. Upon approval of the IND, Immune will have the opportunity to treat BP patients in clinical trials conducted in the U.S.

7:01 am Cyber-Ark Software acquires privately held Viewfinity for $30.5 mln in cash; expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS for 2016 (CYBR) :

Co signs definitive agreement to acquire Viewfinity, Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of Windows least privilege management and application control software for $30.5 mln in cash.

• Co expects the acquisition to have an immaterial impact on revs and non-GAAP EPS in Q4.
• Co believes that Viewfinity will contribute approximately $7-9 mln in revs and will be accretive to non-GAAP EPS for 2016.
• The transaction is expected to close in the Q4.

7:00 am Horizon Pharma announces that three proxy advisory firms recommend Depomed (DEPO) shareholders provide consent FOR the special meetings requests (HZNP) :

• Proxy Mosaic recommended that shareholders of Depomed provide consent for Horizon Pharma's solicitation for the calling of the special meetings by submitting their white and blue proxy cards to Horizon Pharma's proxy solicitor, MacKenzie Partners Proxy Mosaic is the third proxy advisory service to make that recommendation.
• Proxy Mosaic concluded that: "...the [Depomed] board's 'scorched earth' approach to corporate governance over the past few months suggests that the [Depomed] board's intention is to delay and obstruct this deal to the fullest extent possible."
• Proposals to be considered at the special meetings would include removal and replacement of entire Depomed Board of Directors and Repeal of Depomed's Recently adopted bylaw amendments.
  

7:00 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +0.8%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng +3.1%; China's Shanghai Composite closed for holiday (:SUMRX) :

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region stayed on their rally track Wednesday, bolstered by the rebound in oil prices, which lifted energy stocks, and continued enthusiasm over the idea that the Federal Reserve will not raise rates in the near term. On a related note, the Bank of Japan kept its key policy rate unchanged at 0.10%, as expected. Japan's Nikkei faltered early Wednesday, but rallied late to finish with a 0.8% gain. China's stock market remained closed for holiday, but will re-open Thursday after a seven-day closure.

Economic data

• Japan
  • Bank of Japan leaves policy rate unchanged at 0.10%, as expected
  • August Leading Index -1.5% month-over-month (prior -1.7%)
    • Coincident Indicator -0.6% (prior -0.2%)
• Australia
  • September AIG Construction Index 51.9 (prior 53.8)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.8%, having rallied 1.6% over the final two hours of trading. Wednesday's gains were forged in the wake of the BOJ's expected decision to leave its key policy rate unchanged at 0.10%. Pacing the gains were the industrials (+2.2%), materials (+1.9%), and financials (+1.4%) sectors. OKUMA Corp (+8.7%), Mitsubishi Corp (+7.3%), and Inpex Corp (+7.2%) were the top-performing issues. Alps Electric (-3.7%), Toray Industries (-2.7%), and Chugai Pharmaceutical (-2.7%) were the biggest laggards. Out of the 225 index members, 178 ended higher, 44 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 3.1% and finished at its highs for the day. A huge boost in energy shares, which followed the spike in oil prices, helped power the advance. CNOOC (+13.7%), China Shenhua Energy (+9.3%), PetroChina (+9.2%), and Kunlun Energy (+8.5%) topped the list of Wednesday's winners. Sands China (-0.5%) led a very small group of losers. Out of the 50 index members, 46 ended higher and 4 finished lower.
• China's Shanghai Composite: closed for holiday (National Day)
• India's Sensex increased 0.4% in a seesaw session that ended on an upswing. The modest gains were underpinned by the materials (+5.0%), energy (+2.3%), and consumer discretionary (+1.2%) sectors. Hindalco Industries (+9.1%), Vedanta (+5.9%), and Oil & Natural Gas Co. (+4.2%) led individual gainers while Wipro (-2.0%), Infosys (-1.9%), and Bharti Airtel (-1.6%) brought up the rear. Out of the 30 index members, 21 ended higher and 9 finished lower.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.6% and ended at its highs for the day, led by strength in the energy sector. Out of the 200 index members, 100 ended higher, 83 finished lower, and 17 were unchanged.
• Regional advancers: South Korea +0.8%, Taiwan +1.2%, Malaysia +1.6%, Indonesia +0.9%, Singapore +2.2%, Thailand +2.3%, Philippines +0.8%
• Regional decliners: Vietnam -0.3%

FX

• USD/CNY -0.02% at 6.3561
• USD/INR -0.6% at 65.0300
• USD/JPY -0.2% at 120.03

6:55 am RPM Inc misses by $0.07, misses on revs; lowers FY16 EPS below consensus (RPM) :

• Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.74 per share, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.81; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $1.24 bln vs the $1.27 bln consensus.
  • The continuing strength of the U.S. dollar against most foreign currencies, coupled with rainy weather in North America, dampened performance for the fiscal 2016 first quarter ended August 31, 2015. Unseasonably wet weather during June and early July had a particularly negative impact on the company's consumer segment.
  • The company anticipates a return to solid growth in the consumer segment for the balance of the year
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, lowers EPS to $2.50 from $2.50 vs. $2.56 Capital IQ Consensus; which reflects the poor weather-driven first-quarter results in the consumer segment, along with continuing negative foreign currency issues. When you factor out the noise created by the strong U.S. dollar, our great entrepreneurial businesses are competing and winning with solid growth in constant dollars in every region of the world."
• RPM made the determination to combine the former RPM2 industrial operating segment and the former SPHC operating segment into a single operating segment, called the "Specialty Products Group."

6:55 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Philippine Long Distance (PHI), through PLDT Capital, has entered into a joint venture with Phunware. The new partnership involves a total investment of $10 million that will enable PLDT's subsidiary, ePLDT, to market and exclusively distribute Phunware's targeted mobile and multiscreen solutions in Southeast Asia.
• AgustaWestland, part of Finmeccanica (FINMY), extended its relationship with XPO Logistics (XPO) under which XPO global forwarding teams will be responsible for transporting the eight Lynx helicopters to the UK for a phased upgrade programme. Upon completion of each upgrade, XPO Logistics will be responsible for returning the refurbished helicopters back to Brazil by air and sea freight solutions

6:51 am Brookfield Asset Mgmt to spin off ~35% of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. by distributing special dividend estimated to be worth $0.50/share in the form of units of BBP (BAM) :

BBP will be the primary vehicle through which Brookfield will own and operate the business services and industrial operations of its private equity platform. In aggregate, based on Brookfield's proportionate ownership interest, these businesses generated approximately $200 million of funds from operations for Brookfield last year and had an equity value of approximately $2 billion as at June 30, 2015. 

• Pursuant to the spin-off, a portion of BBP's units will be distributed to holders of Brookfield's Class A and B limited voting shares through a special dividend, with Brookfield expected to hold an approximate 65% equity interest, along with the general partner interest, in BBP. BBP intends to apply to list its units in Canada and the United States. Subject to the receipt of normal course regulatory approvals, Brookfield anticipates completing the spin-off of BBP in Q1 2016.

6:46 am Genesis Energy, L.P. increases its quarterly distribution to $0.64/unit, up from $0.625/unit Q/Q (GEL) :  

6:39 am Platform Specialty Products provides timing update on OM Group (OMG) businesses acquisitions and lowers FY15 adj. EBITDA guidance to $550-$570 mln from $620-650 mln (PAH) :

Co provided an update on the timing of the expected closings of its previously announced acquisitions of Alent plc and the Electronic Chemicals and Photomasks businesses of OM Group. The closing of Platform's proposed acquisitions of the OM EC and PM Businesses will take place in two stages with the first stage expected within thirty days and the second in early 2016.

• Co provided a revision to its 2015 adjusted EBITDA guidance, which is now expected to be within the range of $550 million to $570 million (down from $620-650 mln prior), excluding any impact from the OM EC and PM Businesses and Alent. This updated outlook reflects the latest foreign exchange rates, lower specialty chemical consumption in some agricultural market segments, and the impact of a change in Platform's approach to its distribution strategy in its Agricultural Solutions business segment. The impact of foreign exchange is ~$25 million. The impact from a weaker agricultural specialty chemical market is ~$10 million, and the expected impact from the change in its distribution strategy in its Agricultural Solutions business segment is ~$40 million.
• Co also has decided to change its distribution strategy and limit "pre-season" lower margin selling of its products in order to improve the overall margin of these products, as "pre-season" sales often come at a discount.
• Finally, co announced that Benjamin Gliklich has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Gliklich was most recently Vice President, Corporate Development, Finance and Investor Relations.

6:33 am Haverty Furniture reports Q3 sales of +5.7% Y/Y to $209.9 million, on comps of +3% Y/Y (HVT) :

Co's sales for the third quarter 2015 increased 5.7% to $209.9 mln, compared with $198.5 mln for the third quarter of 2014. On a comparable store basis, sales for the quarter rose 3.0%. Total written sales for the third quarter of 2015 increased 5.2% and written comparable store sales rose 2.3% over the same period last year.

• Sales for the first nine months of 2015 totaled $589 mln, compared with $555.4 mln in 2014, representing an increase of 6%. On a comparable store basis, sales rose 3.8% for the first nine months.

6:32 am Cosi Q3 comps decline 0.3% YoY (COSI) :

Q3 comps decline 0.3% YoY.

• The impact to the 4 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, resulting from the YOY shift of the Labor Day holiday, on comp restaurant sales of Company-owned and franchise restaurants has been estimated to be -2.3% and -1.7%, respectively.
• Business interruptions resulting from the Pope's visit on September 22--26, 2015 negatively impacted 30% of the Co. The estimated impact to the 4 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, and the 13 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, on comparable restaurant sales of locations has been estimated to be -0.9% and -0.3%, respectively.
• Termination of a Franchise Agreement resulted in the closure of two franchise locations in California prior to the end of the 2015 third quarter. The estimated impact to the 13 Weeks Ended September 28, 2015, on comparable restaurant sales of franchise locations has been estimated to be -0.7%. These restaurants have been excluded from the Period 9 2014 and 2015 comparable restaurants base.

6:26 am RSP Permian commences an underwritten public offering of 6 mln shares of its common stock (RSPP) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering first to fund a portion of the purchase price of this possible acquisition, if consummated, and the balance for general corporate purposes, which may include funding our drilling and development program.

6:25 am RSP Permian signs a letter of intent to acquire acreage and oil and natural gas producing properties in the Midland Basin for ~$137 mln in cash; also provides a production update (RSPP) :

The privately negotiated transaction between RSP and Wolfberry Partners Resources LLC, an entity owned in part by affiliates of the company, was for ~4,100 net surface acres and 15,000 net effective horizontal acres.

• The properties include 86 net horizontal drilling locations in 5 zones, 21 in the Middle Spraberry, 34 in the Lower Spraberry, 10 in the Wolfcamp A, 10 in the Wolfcamp B and 11 in the Wolfcamp D. Net production averaged ~1.9 MBoe/d in August
• For the third quarter of 2015, co's net daily production is expected to average between 23,500-24,000 Boe/d (approximately 75% oil), a 110% - 114% increase over average net daily production for the third quarter of 2014 and an 18%-21% sequential quarterly growth rate over average net daily production for the second quarter of 2015.
• Based on continued strong well performance and successful spacing pilots, co is increasing its internal estimates for type curves and estimated ultimate recovery for wells drilled in the Middle Spraberry, Lower Spraberry and Wolfcamp A zones

6:14 am Luminex receives FDA clearance for its ARIES System and ARIES HSV 1&2 Assay (LMNX) : The company anticipates market launch in the next few weeks and a formal introduction at the Association for Molecular Pathology annual meeting in Austin, Texas, November 4-7, 2015.

6:06 am GigaMedia enters into a mutual termination agreement with the shareholders of Strawberry Cosmetics; will pay $2 mln termination fee (GIGM) :

The co announced that it has entered into a mutual termination agreement with the shareholders of Strawberry Cosmetics Holding Limited, a global cosmetics e-commerce company, to terminate a share purchase agreement that the parties previously entered into on June 26, 2015 for GigaMedia to acquire a 70% equity interest in Strawberry Cosmetics. The total consideration payable by the GigaMedia for the Acquisition was approximately $93.1 million.

• The co noted that due to the recent and drastic slowdown in global economy and stock market that resulted in a change in business development strategy on the part of GigaMedia, the board of directors of GigaMedia concluded that the mutual termination of the Acquisition was in the best interests of GigaMedia stockholders.
• In connection with the termination, the parties have entered into a mutual termination agreement, whereby GigaMedia will pay $2.0 million consideration to the shareholders of Strawberry Cosmetics and the parties, in turn, have agreed to release each other from any claims relating to the proposed Acquisition.

6:02 am Teck Resources enters long-term streaming agreement with Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) linked to production at the Antamina mine; FNV to make a $610 mln upfront payment (TCK) :

The co announced that it and a subsidiary have entered into a long-term streaming agreement with Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) linked to production at the Antamina mine. Teck holds a 22.5% interest in Compania Minera Antamina S.A. which owns and operates Antamina.

• Franco-Nevada will make an upfront payment of US$610 million to Teck and will pay 5% of the spot price at the time of delivery for each ounce of silver delivered under the agreement. Teck will deliver silver to Franco-Nevada equivalent to 22.5% of payable silver sold by CMA, using a silver payability factor of 90%. After 86 million ounces of silver have been delivered under the agreement, the stream will be reduced by one third.

6:01 am Aimmune Therapeutics receives European Medicines Agency decision endorsing its pediatric investigation plan for AR101 for the treatment of peanut allergy (AIMT) : The approved PIP includes Aimmune's planned Phase 3 trial of AR101 for the treatment of peanut allergy, expected to commence in early 2016.

6:01 am Baker Hughes reports September 2015 rig counts; showing an average of 1,140 international and 848 US rigs in operation during the month (BHI) : The international rig count for September 2015 was 1,140, up 3 from 1,137 M/M and down 183 Y/Y. The average U.S. rig count for September 2015 was 848, down 35 M/M, and down 1,082 from 1,930 Y/Y

6:00 am Biogen to present new data, that reinforce the efficacy and safety profile of Tecfidera in a broad range of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (BIIB) :

The data will be presented at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis. The data show that TECFIDERA significantly reduced multiple sclerosis relapses and delayed disability progression in patients who are newly diagnosed and those early in their disease course; these effects were sustained over six years of follow-up.

• New data to be presented also include a post-hoc analysis in which TECFIDERA significantly reduced key inflammatory disease outcomes compared to glatiramer acetate (:GA)1 and, in a separate analysis, TECFIDERA demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk profile throughout six years of follow-up from the ENDORSE study. Highlights from the presentation include:
• An analysis of the Phase 3 Define and Confirm studies shows that TECFIDERA had significant effects on clinical outcomes in RRMS patients who initiated treatment early in their disease course, defined as those patients with a baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (:EDSS) score of =2.0 (indicating minimal to no disability). Compared to patients treated with placebo, TECFIDERA reduced annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 63 percent (p
• A post-hoc analysis of the MRI population from the Phase 3 CONFIRM study found that TECFIDERA significantly reduced key inflammatory disease outcomes compared to GA (20 mg subcutaneous daily injection). CONFIRM investigated TECFIDERA against placebo and included a reference comparator arm of GA versus placebo.

5:49 am S&P futures vs fair value: +12.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +32.40. :

5:49 am European Markets : FTSE...6365.45...+39.30...+0.60%.  DAX...10013.95...+111.10...+1.10%.

5:49 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...18322.98...+136.90...+0.80%.  Hang Seng...22515.76...+684.10...+3.10%.

5:45 am AU Optronics announces series of mgmt changes; Chairman/Pres to assume CEO role (AUO) :

Co announced top level personnel changes. AUO's Board of Directors has approved the following appointments.

• Chairman Paul Peng will resign from his concurrent position as President and assume the position of Chief Executive Officer
• Michael Tsai will advance to President and Chief Operation Officer. He now serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of AUO's Video Solutions Business Group
• Additionally, the current Chief Financial Officer, Andy Yang will change his role and serve as Chief Strategy Officer.
• Benjamin Tseng, Associate Vice President of Finance, will be appointed as AUO's new CFO.
• The new personnel changes will be effective on November 1, 2015.

5:27 am SABMiller plc confirms revised proposal from Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD), says its Board will meet to consider as soon as practicable (SBMRY) :

SABMiller in commenting on the revised, official offer, provided details regarding previous discussions with BUD, including:

• On 22 September 2015, AB InBev made a highly conditional proposal to acquire the entire issued share capital of SABMiller for GBP 62 billion, comprising an all-cash offer of GBP 40 per SABMiller share and a partial unlisted share and cash alternative of GBP 35.59 per SABMiller share. On 24 September 2015, the full Board of SABMiller subsequently reviewed the GBP 40 Proposal made by AB InBev and unanimously concluded that it very substantially undervalues SABMiller
• The next contact from AB InBev was a meeting on 5 October 2015 at which AB InBev tabled the same GBP 40 Proposal again. During the meeting, its CEO also indicated the possibility, subject to recommendation by the SABMiller Board and approval by the AB InBev Board, of increasing its offer for the entire issued share capital of SABMiller to GBP 65 billion, including an all-cash offer of GBP 42 per SABMiller share alongside a partial unlisted share and cash alternative. The full Board of SABMiller met on 5 October 2015 and unanimously reconfirmed its rejection of the GBP 40 Proposal.
• The co notes that the all-cash offer within the new proposal announced today is only GBP 0.15 higher than the GBP 42 Proposal considered and rejected on 5 October 2015. The Board will, of course, meet formally to consider the GBP 42.15 Proposal as soon as practicable and a further announcement will be made thereafter.
  

5:18 am B2Gold provides update on its El Limon Mine after insurrection; mining ops halted (BTG) :

B2Gold Nicaragua provides the following update on the ongoing illegal blockade. Unfortunately, today violence broke out when members of the Nicaraguan National Police attempted to clear access to the mining operation's main entrance. As a result of the confrontation there were several injuries and significant material damages.

• As a result of the illegal blockade mining operations have been halted. The illegal blockade is a result of a small group of people protesting contract cancellation of three former workers. The contract cancellation was approved by the Ministry of Labor, for just cause.
  

4:35 am Altria issues statement on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (BUD) proposal for SABMiller (SBMRY) (MO) :

Altria Group (MO), SABMiller plc's (SBMRY) largest shareholder, notes that Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has announced a proposal for a cash offer for SABMiller at 42.15 per ordinary share, with a partial share alternative, as described in AB InBev's announcement.

• Altria believes that a combination of these two companies would create significant value for all SABMiller shareholders. Altria supports a proposal of 42.15, or higher, with a partial share alternative, and, subject to finalization of terms, would be prepared to elect the partial share alternative. Altria urges SABMiller's board to engage promptly and constructively with AB InBev to agree on the terms of a recommended offer
• Altria currently owns ~27% percent of SABMiller's ordinary shares 

4:31 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• OmniVision Technologies (OVTI) announced that it has received notice from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that it has concluded its review of the proposed acquisition of OmniVision
• NETGEAR (NTGR) is launching two new quad-mode business-class 802.11ac wireless Access Points that support four different modes of management.
• KeepItSafe, providers of online disaster recovery and data backup, and a brand of j2 Global (JCOM), announced that the company has been selected as the official online data backup partner of Hull City Association Football Club. 
• Autoliv (ALV) announced the market introduction of its Electronic Horizon module which provides beyond-line-of-sight road context and information to safety and efficiency systems at the 22nd Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress being held this week in Bordeaux, France.
• Zayo Group Holdings (ZAYO) announced it's been selected by ServerChoice, a leading UK secure hosting specialist, to connect to one of its key Hertfordshire data centres. The project, which will be complete in January 2016
  

4:23 am Taseko Mines acquires 12,426,757 common shares of Yellowhead Mining (TGB) :

Co announces that it has acquired 12,426,757 common shares of Yellowhead Mining at a cost of $0.045 per share pursuant to a rights offering.

• Prior to the rights offering, Taseko held 10,469,507 shares of Yellowhead representing approximately 10.6% of Yellowhead's issued and outstanding shares. As a result of its participation in this rights offering, Taseko now holds a total of 22,896,264 shares of Yellowhead, representing approximately 18.5% of Yellowhead's issued and outstanding shares.
  

4:10 am TPG Specialty Lending extends senior secured revolving credit facility; commitments to the amended facility increased from $781.3 million to $821.3 million (TSLX) :  

4:01 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXPI) and Siemens AG (SIEGY) announced a partnership for secure, intelligent vehicle networking. Siemens will use technology from NXP Semiconductors and Cohda Wireless for secure communication of vehicles with surrounding traffic infrastructure.
• HP (HPQ) unveiled the details of Partner First and Partner Ready, the new partner programs for HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise respectively. Both Partner First and Partner Ready will build upon HP's industry-leading PartnerOne program to help partners of both new organizations capture and capitalize on opportunities through customer-oriented, solutions-led sales.
  

3:59 am Heineken raises ownership and licensing arrangements in Jamaica, Malaysia and Singapore and Ghana regions (HEINY) :

Co announced that HEINEKEN and Diageo plc (DEO) have completed a transaction to bring increased focus to their respective beer businesses and certain licensing arrangements in Jamaica, Malaysia and Singapore and Ghana. The transaction comprises:

• HEINEKEN has taken control of Desnoes & Geddes by acquiring Diageo's 57.9% shareholding in this company.
• HEINEKEN now has full ownership of GAPL, having acquired Diageo's shareholding, which was slightly lower than 50%. GAPL owns 51% of the issued share capital of Guinness Anchor Berhad, which is listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange. GAPL is also the licensee for Guinness and ABC Stout distribution for the Singapore market.
• HEINEKEN has sold its 20% ownership stake in Guinness Ghana Breweries to Diageo.
• HEINEKEN and Diageo have entered into licensing agreements for each other's brands currently in the respective portfolios in Jamaica and Ghana.

3:54 am Nokia announces leadership structure for combination of NOK and Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) (NOK) :

Nokia announced the planned leadership and organizational structure that it intends to implement after and subject to the successful closing of the public exchange offer for Alcatel-Lucent

• Timo Ihamuotila, currently Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer, Nokia, would serve as Chief Financial Officer
• Marc Rouanne, currently Executive Vice President, Mobile Broadband, Nokia Networks, would serve as Chief Innovation & Operating Officer

3:35 am Anheuser-Busch InBev increases offer to acquire SABMiller (SBMRY) for GBP42.15 per share (BUD) :

The revised proposal that AB InBev has made today is to acquire SABMiller for GBP42.15 per share in cash, with a partial share alternative available for approximately 41% of the SABMiller shares. AB InBev has made two prior written proposals in private to SABMiller, the first at GBP38.00 per share in cash and the second at GBP40.00 per share in cash. AB InBev is disappointed that the Board of SABMiller has rejected both of these prior approaches without any meaningful engagement.

• AB InBev believes that this revised proposal should be highly attractive to SABMiller shareholders and provides an extremely compelling opportunity for them. The cash proposal represents a premium of ~44% to SABMiller's closing share price of GBP29.34 on 14 September 2015 (being the last business day prior to renewed speculation of an approach from AB InBev).
• Pre-conversion into AB InBev ordinary shares, SABMiller shareholders who elect for the partial share alternative will hold 0.483969 Restricted Shares for every SABMiller share. SABMiller shareholders who elect for the partial share alternative would also receive GBP2.37 in cash for each SABMiller share

3:33 am Sanofi-Aventis presents new data indicating Aubagio slows brain atrophy in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (SNY) :

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced that magnetic resonance imaging data from the Phase III TEMSO study demonstrate that Aubagio significantly slowed brain volume loss vs. placebo over two years in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis

Results presented include:

• By month 12, median% reduction from baseline in brain volume was 0.39, 0.40, and 0.61 for Aubagio 14 mg, 7 mg, and placebo, respectively. This change was lower for both Aubagio groups vs. placebo: 14 mg by 36.9%
• The significant difference in reduction of brain atrophy for Aubagio vs. placebo was maintained at month 24. Median% reduction in brain volume from baseline was 0.90, 0.94, and 1.29 for Aubagio 14 mg, 7 mg, and placebo, respectively. This change was lower for both Aubagio groups vs. placebo: 14 mg by 30.6%
  

3:15 am NW Natural Gas increases annual dividend by $0.01 to $1.87 per share; quarterly div at $0.4675 per share (NWN) :