Holiday retail sales increased by a strong 7.9% but the markets opened lower with the Dow tumbling 91 points to 17,460 as crude oil prices fell. Nasdaq dropped 35 points to 5,012.
On the upside
Shares of Auris Medical Holding (NYSE: EARS) continued to climb.
The Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) app surged to become the number one download on Saturday in the iTunes App Store.
Disney's (NYSE: DIS) "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" surpassed $1 billion in global ticket sales in a record twelve days.
On the downside
Chimerix (Nasdaq: CMRX) reported disappointing results from a Phase 3 Suppress trial of brincidofovir in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a formal order of investigation into Iconix Brand (Nasdaq: ICON) related to the accounting treatment for the formation of certain joint ventures.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) chief executive Michael Pearson took a medical leave of absence effective immediately.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 14 points to 2,046. Bitcoin eased a fraction to $423.
