Nasdaq OMX Acquires eSpeed, Tesla Sales Exceed Estimates

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.24 percent to 14,543.27 while the NASDAQ dropped 1.06 percent to 3,232.48. The S&P also declined, falling 0.61 percent to 1,559.00.

Major Averages After the Close

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.04 percent to 14,572.85.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.45 percent at 1,562.17.

The Nasdaq was also down 0.87 percent to 3,239.17.

Construction Spending
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during February 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion, 1.2 percent above the revised January estimate of $874.8 billion.

The February figure is 7.9 percent above the February 2012 estimate of $820.7 billion. During the first 2 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $120.1 billion, 6.6 percent above the $112.6 billion for the same period in 2012.

ISM Manufacturing Index
In the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing survey released Monday morning, the manufacturing sector continued to grow in March, but at a slower pace than in February.

The headline printed 51.3, a decrease of 2.9 points from February's reading of 54.2 percent, indicating expansion in manufacturing for the fourth consecutive month, but at a slower rate. It has bounced around this level for the past year, indicating no clear trend.

China Manufacturing PMI
The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.6 in March from 51.7 in February on expectations of a flat reading at 51.7. The analysts at HSBC noted that operating conditions and production levels have now improved in China for five consecutive months and that total orders rose for the sixth consecutive month.

Markets did not react to the news positively overnight. Chinese shares fell slightly overnight by 0.1 percent, as measured by the Shanghai Composite Index, however shares traded as low as 0.42 percent following the data release. Top gaining sectors included pharmaceutical companies and retail companies with Information Technology and Industrial companies lagging.

Commodities
Gold rose 0.23 percent to close at 1,598.90 while crude oil dipped 0.25 percent to close at 97.40.

Currency
The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index (UUP) closed down 0.35 percent at 22.52.

European shares were closed Monday for the Easter Monday holiday, so the EUR/USD pair last closed down 0.12 percent at 1.2804.

Stock Movers
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NDAQ) today announced it has entered into an agreement with BGC Partners, Inc. (BGCP) to acquire the eSpeed platform for a purchase price of $750 million in cash plus certain contingent issuances of stock that approximate certain tax benefits to NASDAQ OMX.

Shares of NDAQ closed down 0.90 percent after the news and closed at 32.01.

Tesla Motors (TSLA) shot up early in the day and settled later on, remaining up 13.58 percent to $43.04 after the company said sales of its Model S cars exceeded its estimates.

Forrester Research (FORR) was also up, gaining 9.35 percent to $34.61 after the company intends to commence tender offer to repurchase up to $130 million of its common stock.

VirnetX Holding (HC) took a hit today, falling 8.92 percent to $17.46 as the volatile stock lived up to its reputation for wild swings.

Panasonic (PC) was also down, falling 8.46 percent to $6.71 after the company announced delisting schedule from the NYSE.

BY Joe Young