Leap Wireless Surges On AT&T Deal, Cash America Shares Tumble

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.09 percent to 15,478.58 while the NASDAQ surged 0.12 percent to 3,604.46. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.13 percent to 1,682.31.

Top Headline
Citigroup (C) reported a rise in its second-quarter profit.

Citigroup's quarterly profit jumped to $4.2 billion, or $1.34 per share, from $2.95 billion, or $1 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.25 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.18 per share.

Its total net revenue rose to $20.5 billion from $18.64 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $1.18 per share on revenue of $19.73 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Leap Wireless International (LEAP) shot up 110.90 percent to $16.83 after AT&T (T) agreed to buy Leap Wireless for around $1.19 billion in cash.

Shares of Forest Oil (FST) got a boost, shooting up 5.79 percent to $4.85 after the company announced its intent to sell Texas Panhandle assets.

Taylor Capital Group (TAYC) was also up, gaining 20.89 percent to $21.53 after MB Financial (MBFI) announced its plans to acquire Taylor Capital for $680 million.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Cash America International (CSH) were down 4.01 percent to $46.76 after the company cut its Q2 earnings outlook.

Ingredion (INGR) was down, falling 9.72 percent to $62.71 after the company lowered its profit outlook for the full year.

Michael Kors Holdings (KORS) shares tumbled 2.07 percent to $62.50 after Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock from “overweight” to “neutral.”

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.03 percent to $105.92, while gold traded up 0.50 percent to $1,284.00.

Silver traded up 0.32 percent Monday to $19.86, while copper fell 0.63 percent to $3.14.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.04 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index gained 0.93 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX jumped 0.17 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.61 percent while U.K. shares surged 0.56 percent.

Economics
US retail sales increased 0.4% in June, versus economists' expectations for a 0.9% gain.

The Empire State manufacturing index surged to 9.46 in July, from 7.84 in June. However, economists were expecting a reading of 5.00 in July.

US business inventories increased 0.1% to $1.66 trillion in May. However, economists were projecting no change.

BY Jake L'Ecuyer