Unexpected Drop In Home Sales Sends Markets Tumbling

An unexpected drop in existing home sales sent the markets tumbling to a lower close with the Dow plunging 148 points to 10,293. Nasdaq dropped 27 points to 2261.

On the upside

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) sold 3 million iPads in 80 days.

On the downside

Shares of Curis (Nasdaq: CRIS) continued to fall after its colorectal cancer treatment failed a clinical trial.

Zale (NYSE: ZLC) made a partial payment of $5.3 million to Citibank (NYSE: C) for credit card services.

IBISWorld ranked Saks (NYSE: SKS) last in three out of four metrics used in their Retailer Health Rating.

The soaring cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill raised concerns that smaller, more successful oil exploration firms such as Cobalt International Energy (NYSE: CIE) may be forced to exit the area.

Premier Exhibitions' (Nasdaq: PRXI) largest shareholder announced plans to sell its 46% stake in the company.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 14 points to 645.