Flat open even as pending homes sales climb

Pending home sales climbed more than expected in April but the markets opened flat with the Dow easing a fraction to 17,850 over concerns that a strong economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Nasdaq added 4 points to 4,898.

On the upside

Minerva Neurosciences (Nasdaq: NERV) reported positive results from a Phase IIb trial of MIN-101 to treat patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

First quarter earnings surged for Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR) to beat expectations.

Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) reported better than expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter.

On the downside

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS) partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) will not initiate a Phase 3 outcome study of IONIS-TTR.

Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) widened losses for the first quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) reported a greater than expected loss for the first quarter as sales fell to miss estimates.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 eased a point to 2,089. Bitcoin added $3 to $451.