The Federal Reserve is expected to announce an interest rate increase after its two day meeting that begins today. The markets opened lower with the Dow dropping 72 points to 20,808. Nasdaq tumbled 41 points to 5,834.
On the upside
Euronet Worldwide (Nasdaq: EEFT) offered a premium of $15.20 per share in cash to acquire MoneyGram International (Nasdaq: MGI) topping the $13.25 per share bid from Ant Financial.
DragonWave (Nasdaq: DRWI) entered a new distribution partnership with Ingram Micro Australia.
Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) retained the services of UBS to explore strategic options including a potential sale of the company.
On the downside
Investors locked in profits on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (Nasdq: AUPH).
Walter Investment (NYSE: WAC) reported a loss for the fourth quarter.
Aratana Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PETX) widened losses for the fourth quarter.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index dropped 12 points to 2,360. Bitcoin climbed $12 to $1,243.