The S&P 500 was up 0.1% in midday trading to 1,980.26.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 16,861.34.
The NASDAQ was down 0.1% to 4,685.86.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond was up 0.8% to 1.85%.
The price of gold was up 0.6% to $1,238.
RESTAURANTS
Irvine-based Habit Restaurants Inc. was up 2.5% to $21.02 and a $539 million market cap. The fast casual burger chain is scheduled to report results after markets close and its shares were upgraded this morning to “outperform” with a $30 price target by Cowen & Co.
AGRICULTURE
Newport Beach-based American Vanguard Corp. was up 14% to $14.81 and a $432 million market cap. The chemicals maker reported higher quarterly and full year net income and said it bought via its Netherlands-based subsidiary a 15% stake in a biological products maker, which also gave American Vanguard distribution rights in the Americas to a fungicide made by that company.
HEALTHCARE
Tustin-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. was down 7.4% to 36 cents and an $82 million market cap. The drug maker’s shares had by midday traded at five times its 90-day average and have fallen by two-thirds over the last 3 trading sessions after Peregrine said Friday it ended a Phase III drug trial.
