Crude oil extended its losses by falling below $28 per barrel to send the markets plummeting to a sharply lower open with the Dow collapsing 331 points to 15,684. Nasdaq crashed 102 points to 4,374.
On the upside
Zafgen (Nasdaq: ZFGN) reported positive results from a Phase 3 trial of beloranib in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.
Rebounding gold prices lifted shares of Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY).
Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution (Nasdaq: KONE) swung to a profit for fiscal 2015 as revenue surged.
On the downside
Investors locked in profits on Nxt-ID (Nasdaq: NXTD).
Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL) from a Neutral rating to an Underperform rating.
WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX) repurchased notes and increased its hedges but the stock price fell.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 11 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 plunged 38 points to 1,843. Bitcoin soared $31 to $412.
