Slowing growth of China's economy in the first quarter sparked concerns about the recovery of the global economy. The markets opened sharply lower with the Dow plunging 103 points to 14,761 while Nasdaq tumbled 26 points to 3267.
On the upside
Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) offered a premium of approximately $25.5 billion in cash and stock to acquire Sprint (NYSE: S).
Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO) agreed to buy Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE) for a premium of approximately $13.6 billion in cash.
Madison Dearborn Partners will take National Financial Partners (NYSE: NFP) private in a deal valued at approximately $1.3 billion including convertible debt.
On the downside
Falling gold prices sent shares of Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), Iamgold (NYSE: IAG), Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC), Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) and Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) tumbling.
Profit taking sank shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI).
The Food and Drug Administration requested clarification from Discovery Laboratories (NYSE: DSCO) and provided recommendations for the biotechnology company's recently updated product specifications for SURFAXIN.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by 9 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index dropped 12 points to 1576.
