U.S. shares moved lower today as a continued rise in government bond yields triggered selloffs in global equity markets. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.4 percent to 2,097 at 11:41 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) slipped 0.2 percent to 18,061, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dropped 0.4 percent to 4,973. Most followed shares included AOL, YY, Rackspace Hosting, LivePerson, Gap, Hilton, Arcos Dorados, Dish Network, Providence Service, Depomed, Impax Laboratories, and Lumber Liquidators.
In technology shares, AOL (NYSE:AOL) jumped 18.8 percent to $50.55 after the company agreed to be bought by Verizon communications (NYSE:VZ) in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. Verizon expects to fund the purchase with cash on hand and commercial paper. Verizon’s stock slipped 0.4 percent to $49.62
ADRs of YY (NASDAQ:YY) slumps 7.1 percent to $64.22 after brokerages cut price targets on the video streaming website operator's stock.
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX) fell 13.8 percent to $45.81 after the cloud-computing company lowered revenue expectations for the current quarter. The San Antonio, Texas-based company said its first-quarter earnings rose 12 percent as it posted stronger revenue.
LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) fell 12.4 percent to $8.30 after the application-service provider cut its financial projections for the year and said it has taken steps aimed at saving about $13 million by year’s end. The company said it expects to record a $2.5 million charge in the second quarter related to the cost-cutting move.
In consumer shares, Gap (NYSE:GPS) dropped 3.2 percent to $38.58 after the clothing retailer’s first-quarter revenue missed analysts’ estimates.
International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) sank 3.3 percent to $115.37 after saying first-quarter profit rose 20 percent, despite the strong dollar’s impact on sales.
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) fell 0.5 percent to $29.56 after Blackstone cut its stake below 50 percent in the hotel operator.
Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) fell 3.8 percent to $5.86 after saying its first-quarter loss widened as the world’s largest franchisee of McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) was hurt by impacts from weaker Latin American currencies, mainly in Brazil and Argentina.
Lumber Liquidators (NYSE:LL) fell 4.7 percent to $26.73 as CNBC reported that the troubled U.S. flooring retailer is being denied coverage by its insurers for lawsuits involving the safety of its flooring products.
Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) skidded 1 percent to $65.71 after the pay-TV provider said it lost 134,000 pay-TV subscribers in the first quarter of the year, largely due to disputes with major TV programmers.
Providence Service (NASDAQ:PRSC), which manages a variety of government-sponsored health-care, transportation and social services, jumped 20 percent to $48.98. The company also reported 20% organic revenue growth for the first quarter. It also said chief executive officer Warren Rustand plans to step down.
In health-care stocks, Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ:IPXL) sank 3.8 percent to $44.37 after saying the Food and Drug Administration found additional quality control issues in a recent three-week inspection of its troubled manufacturing plant in Hayward, California.
Depomed (NASDAQ:DEPO) plummeted 17.6 percent to $20.11 after swinging to a loss in the first quarter. However, the biopharmaceutical company raised its projections for the year to account for the acquisition of U.S. rights to Johnson & Johnson’s painkiller Nucynta.