On The Fly: Top stock stories for Monday

Stocks began the week in negative territory as worries of a trade war between the U.S. and China were not put to rest by a weekend that was light on news from the trade front. The market saw its lows a short time after the open and then drifted until just before lunch, when the Nasdaq first crossed into positive ground. The Dow was the laggard throughout the day, but was able to cut is losses before the close of a slow moving day of trading. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the NAHB housing market index fell 2 points back to 68 in June, reversing a 2 point increase in May. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Rent-A-Center (RCII) jumped 22% to $14.68 after the company announced that it has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Vintage Capital Management for $15 per share in cash... In other M&A news, W.P. Carey (WPC) shares slid about 2% after the company said its board of directors unanimously approved a definitive merger pact via which Corporate Property Associates 17 - Global Incorporated, a publicly-held non-traded REIT advised by W.P. Carey, will merge with and into a subsidiary of W. P. Carey in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $6B... Meanwhile, JD.com (JD) shares were fractionally higher in New York trading after Google (GOOG) said it will invest $550M in cash in the Chinese internet company as part of a strategic partnership... In addition, Square (SQ) shares rose almost 3% after the company was granted a license in New York to offer residents the ability to buy and sell bitcoin through its Cash app. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Arrowhead (ARWR), which gained 24% after it completed enrollment in its Phase 1 ARO-AAT study in liver disease. Also higher was GameStop (GME), which rose 9% after Reuters reported that the retailer has held talks with private equity firms after seeing takeover interest. Among the notable losers was Catalyst Biosciences (CBIO), which plunged 64% after it provided on update on its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial investigation its severe hemophilia B treatment, saying it is conducting an analysis to assess the cause and impact of antibody observations prior to dosing any further subjects. Also lower was Ziopharm (ZIOP), which fell 18% after reporting that the FDA placed a clinical hold on its trial of CD19-targeted CAR T therapy. INDEXES: The Dow fell 103.01, or 0.41%, to 24,987.47, the Nasdaq added 0.65, or 0.01%, to 7,747.02, and the S&P 500 declined 5.79, or 0.21%, to 2,773.87.