The markets traded lower during the midday with the Dow falling 29 points to 18,874. Nasdaq lost 7 points 5,326.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles partnered with Amazon to sell cars online at prices that will be up to a third lower than at a brick and mortar dealership. Only three models in Italy will initially be available. Italy's best selling Panda will be offered on Amazon along with the 500 and 500L.
DuPont will freeze its employee pension plan in approximately 2 years and will end all company contributions to the plan. Active employees will no longer accrue benefits around November 2018. Retiree health benefits which include dental and life insurance will also be eliminated.
Tesla Motors' shareholders overwhelming approved the proposed $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity. The merger will facilitate the creation of an integrated solar roof and energy storage product. Volume production of solar roofs will begin in the summer of 2017 with new roof varieties introduced every three months.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 4 points to 2,182. Bitcoin gained $7 to $740.
