Yesterday’s upbeat economic data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve would reign in its bond buying program. The market opened sharply lower with the Dow tumbling 80 points to 15,329 while Nasdaq fell 16 points to 3472.
On the upside
Shuanghui International Holdings will pay a premium of approximately $4.72 billion to acquire Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD).
Stewart Enterprises (Nasdaq: STEI) will be acquired by Service Corp. International for a premium of approximately $1.13 billion in cash.
Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP) signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with partner Azure Hydrogen to extend their fuel cell collaboration.
On the downside
Chico’s FAS (NYSE: CHS) reported lower first quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations.
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) widened first quarter losses more than expected as revenue tumbled.
New York Mortgage Trust (Nasdaq: NYMT) priced its public offering of 3 million shares of preferred stock at $25 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index lost 7 points to 1652.
