The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow losing 33 points to 18,398 as expansion of manufacturing activity slowed in July. Nasdaq rose 17 points to 5,179.
Tesla offered approximately $2.6 billion in stock to acquire SolarCity. The deal is part of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk's plan to vertically integrate Tesla's battery storage unit with SolarCity's solar panel business. The two companies expect to recognize $150 million in cost savings in the first year as a combined business.
After two years of fierce competition, Uber will sell its Chinese operations to Didi Chuxing. Didi Chuxing will run Uber China as a separate brand and invest $1 billion in Uber Global while Uber will receive a stake in the combined company. The new company will have a valuation of approximately $35 billion.
Verizon plans to expand into the fleet and mobile workforce management business by acquiring Fleetmatics. Fleetmatics develops software to monitor vehicle location, fuel usage, speed and mileage in order for businesses to better manage their mobile workforce. The all-cash deal valued at approximately $2.4 billion is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 on the NYSE while decliners barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 3 points to 2,170. Bitcoin dropped $10 to $616.
