Disappointing results from Wal-Mart weighed the markets down to a sharply lower open with the Dow plunging 155 points to 16,458. Nasdaq plummeted 53 points to 4,047.
On the upside
Kindred Healthcare offered a premium of approximately $533 million to acquire Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq: GTIV).
Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) reported lower third quarter earnings and revenue but the results were better than expected.
Needham upgraded Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (Nasdaq: PTX) from a Buy rating to a Strong Buy rating.
On the downside
NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) delayed filing its annual report.
E-commerce China Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) swung to a profit for the first quarter but revenue fell short of analyst expectations and the company forecast current quarter revenue below estimates.
Profit taking weighed down shares of National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 plunged 20 points to 1868. Bitcoin edged up $1.37 or 0.31% to $445.27.
