The markets cratered to close sharply lower with the Dow diving 335 points to 24,610 as Facebook and other social media sites face backlash and potential regulations over user privacy. Nasdaq crashed 137 points to 7344.
On the upside
Geron (Nasdaq: GERN) narrowed fourth quarter losses on higher revenue.
Cronos Group (Nasdaq: CRON) formed a joint venture with MM Enterprises USA to develop branded cannabis products and open cannabis retail stores in Canada.
Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) reported higher fourth quarter earnings and revenue.
On the downside
Cidara Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CDTX) reported upbeat results from a Phase 2 STRIVE clinical trial of its lead anti fungal candidate rezafungin acetate but the stock price plummeted.
Investors locked in profits on Zscaler (Nasdaq: ZS).
Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) will acquire Klondex Mines (MYSE: KLDX) for approximately $462 million in cash and stock.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 plunged 39 points to 2,712. Bitcoin surged $203 to $8,438.