A critical port that serves as the primary support hub for the Gulf of Mexico’s deepwater offshore oil and gas industry sustained less damage from Hurricane Ida’s direct hit than initially feared and should be able to return to working operations “in the near future."

S&P Global announced that it would acquire IHS Markit, based in London, for about $44 billion in an all-stock deal. Each share of IHS Markit common stock will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 0.2838 shares of S&P Global stock. Douglas Peterson, the CEO of S&P Global, will hold that title at the combined company. Lance Uggla, Chairman and CEO of IHS Markit, will become a special advisor to the company for a year after the deal closes. Shares of IHS Markit rose more than 7% at the opening bell Monday.

Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday as caution again after a retreat on Wall Street driven by a decline in technology shares. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday as caution set in after a retreat on Wall Street driven by a decline in technology shares. Risks of a broader sell-off of technology shares after a long due correction, Hayaki Narita at Mizuho Bank in Singapore said in a report. “Weak leads from Wall Street continue to be the bane of Asia markets as regional indices broadly slipped,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 42 cents to $39.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.