Employers added fewer jobs than expected in April to weigh the markets down to a lower open with the Dow plunging 105 points to 13,101. Nasdaq plummeted 44 points to 2980.
On the upside
GeoEye (Nasdaq: GEOY) made a $792 million cash and stock bid for DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI).
LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) reported sharply higher first quarter earnings that more than doubled as revenue surged and announced the acquisition of SlideShare.
First quarter earnings for Spreadtrum Communications (Nasdaq: SPRD) slipped but the results beat analyst expectations and the company forecast current quarter revenue above estimates.
On the downside
Synergy Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SGYP) priced its public offering of 10 million common shares at the discounted price of $4.50 per share.
Piper Jaffray downgraded Body Central (Nasdaq: BODY) to a Neutral rating.
American International Group (NYSE: AIG) reported sharply higher first quarter earnings but the stock price fell as analysts remained cautious about the insurer’s recovery.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 9 points to 796.
