Sales of new homes dropped 7.6% in August to send the markets tumbling to a sharply lower close with the Dow plummeting 166 points to 18,094. Nasdaq plunged 48 points to 5,257.
On the upside
Shares of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ZYNE) climbed after competitor GW Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: GWPH) reported positive results from a second Phase 3 trial.
Lipocine (Nasdaq: LPCN) reported positive results from a Phase 2b study of the testosterone replacement therapy LPCN 1111.
Shares of Sophiris Bio (Nasdaq: SPHS) climbed for the third day.
On the downside
Stifel Nicolaus downgraded RetailMeNot (Nasdaq: SALE) from a Hold rating to a Sell rating.
The redemption rights of Acorda Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ACOR) regarding Biotie Therapies stock have been terminated.
Lands' End (Nasdaq: LE) chief executive Federica Marchionni resigned.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 18 points to 2,146. Bitcoin gained $5 to $605.