Continued concerns about the European debt crisis sent the markets tumbling to a sharply lower open with the Dow collapsing 208 points to 12,613. Nasdaq sank 62 points to 2862.
On the upside
Chinese oil company CNOOC will pay approximately $15.1 billion to acquire Canadian energy company Nexen (NYSE: NXY).
NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) will acquire GenOn Energy (NYSE: GEN) for approximately $1.7 billion in stock.
Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM) will sell a 49% interest in its UK North Sea assets to Sinopec for approximately $1.5 billion.
On the downside
Banco Bradesco (NYSE: BBD) reported higher second quarter earnings but the results fell short of analyst expectations prompting the Brazilian bank to lower its lending growth guidance for the year.
Shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) dropped after three murders in Macau over the past two weeks sparked fears that violent crime will keep patrons away from the gambling capital of the world.
InterMune (Nasdaq: ITMN) swung to a profit for the second quarter but the results fell short of analyst expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 8 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plummeted 16 points to 775.
European Debt Concerns Sink Stocks
July 23, 2012 at 10:45 AM EDT
