An unexpected drop in new home sales sent the markets tumbling to a sharply lower open with the Dow plunging 126 points to 17,877 as crude oil prices climbed. Nasdaq dropped 20 points to 4,885.
On the upside
Gannet (NYSE: GCI) offered to acquire Tribune Publishing (NYSE: TPUB) in a deal valued at approximately $815 million.
Shares of Neothetics (Nasdaq: NEOT) extended its gains.
California Resources (NYSE: CRC) stock continued to rise.
On the downside
Profit taking weighed down shares of Eleven Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: EBIO).
Xerox (NYSE: XRX) reported lower first quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.
Investors locked in profits on Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 9 points to 2,081. Bitcoin added $1 to $453.