Destructive Earthquake And Tsunami Send Markets Tumbling
The devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday weighed the markets down to a lower open with the Dow dropping 62 points to 11,982 as analysts assessed the damage to the world's third largest economy. Nasdaq tumbled 15 points to 2700.
On the upside
Shares of Star Scientific (Nasdaq: CIGX) continued rising after the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office upheld two of the tobacco company's patents on Friday.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will acquire Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ) in an all cash deal valued at approximately $9.7 billion.
A second explosion at a nuclear power plant in Japan lifted shares of solar stocks Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) on speculation that the Japanese government may seek alternative energy sources.
On the downside
Shares of Uranium Resources (Nasdaq: URRE), USEC (NYSE: USU) and Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) tumbled after a second explosion at a nuclear power plant in Japan sparked fears of a backlash against nuclear energy.
USA Technologies (Nasdaq: USAT) announced a private placement of $10.7 million in common stock.Sony (NYSE: SNE) closed ten factories and two research centers in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday.In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 4 points 798.
