Pending home sales and private payrolls increased in August but the markets traded lower during the midday with the Dow tumbling 88 points to 18,365. Nasdaq fell 20 points to 5,202.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to block farm equipment maker Deere & Co. from buying Monsanto Co.'s Precision Planting farm equipment business. The antitrust division of the Justice Department said that the proposed acquisition would combine the two dominate high-speed planting technology makers. With no other significant competitors, Deere could raise prices and slow innovation.
Amazon expanded its restaurant delivery service to Houston, Texas. Amazon Prime members can now order food from Amazon Restaurant partners in Houston and receive free delivery within one hour. There are no menu markups or service charges. Prime members will pay the same price as the restaurant's online menu.
Tesla will update its self-driving Autopilot feature in the upcoming V8.0 and 8.1 software. Changes will be made to the processing of radar, laser and camera system signals. A Model S sedan that had its Autopilot feature activated was involved in a fatal crash in May.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 10 points to 2,165. Bitcoin lost $4 to $573.
