U.S. stocks pared most of their early losses today as government bonds recovered from an early sell-off. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.3 percent to 2,100 at 3:43 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) slipped 0.2 percent to 18,076, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dropped 0.3 percent to 4,978.
U.S. bond prices recovered from an earlier bout of selling that followed a steep decline by European bonds. Yields rise as bond prices fall.
DATA:
The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index rose 1.7 points to 96.9 in April, though the reading is still the second-worse since October.
March job openings dropped to 4.99 million from February’s 5.14 million.
MOVERS:
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 7.9 percent to $63.50 after brokerages cut price targets on the video streaming website operator's stock.
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX) fell 13.5 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) tumbled 10.2 percent to $8.50 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.
Gap (NYSE:GPS) dropped 3.4 percent to $38.51 after the clothing retailer’s first-quarter revenue missed analysts’ estimates.
International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) sank 3.7 percent to $114.85 after saying first-quarter profit rose 20 percent, despite the strong dollar’s impact on sales.
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) fell 0.7 percent to $29.47 after Blackstone cut its stake below 50 percent in the hotel operator.
Arcos Dorados Holdings (NYSE:ARCO) fell 8.9 percent to $5.55 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 5.1 percent to $26.64 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 0.7 percent to $65.94 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.
COMMODITIES:
Gold for June delivery on Comex rose 0.8 percent to settle at $1,192.40 an ounce. That’s the highest settlement since May 5.
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 2.5 percent to settle at $60.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest settlement since May 6.
OTHER MARKETS:
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 stumbled 1.5 percent. Greece worries intensified after the country’s finance minister said it may run out of cash in two weeks. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1 percent, but Japan’s Nikkei Average edged up about 4 points.