Rising oil prices along with a drop in construction spending weighed down the market during the midday with the Dow dropping 74 points to 11,276. Nasdaq tumbled 11 points to 2282.
Myriad Genetics (Nasdaq: MYGN) stock rebounded after yesterday's drop when the biotechnology company announced that development of its Alzheimer's drug Flurizan will end.
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) reported higher first quarter earnings that surpassed expectations as revenue rose.
VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) named Duane Gilliam to the chairman position replacing Gordon Ommen who resigned.
On the downside
Canaccord Adams analyst Jonathan Dorsheimer downgraded Emcore (Nasdaq: EMKR) saying that demand from a major client is overstated.Although Alliance One International (NYSE: AOI) swung to a profit for the year, the company warned that supply and demand will tighten.
Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) will raise $350 million through the offering of convertible senior notes.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plunged 11 points to 679.
