Stocks slide on Wall Street; Volatile biotechnology sector takes another plunge; eBay down

By The Associated Press
April 10 2014 09:07 AM

CP27945829 — Trader Ronald Madarasz, left, and specialist Donald Civitanova work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, April 10, 2014. U.S. stock indexes are slipping lower in early trading Thursday as investors pick over a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – U.S. stocks are heading lower after a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports. Biogen Idec, Gilead Sciences and other biotech companies extended their recent slump.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 15 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,856 as of noon (1600 GMT) Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 75 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 16,361. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 75 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 4,108.

Ebay dropped 3 per cent on news that Carl Icahn is backing down from his campaign to shake up the company.

Biotechnology companies fell sharply. The sector has become volatile in recent weeks amid scrutiny over the cost of their drugs.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.63 per cent.

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