New home construction activity in April rose sharply higher, but an
early reading on cosumer sentiment in May fell. The markets remained in
negative territory with the Dow down 9 points to 16,437. Nasdaq fell 6
points to 4,063.
On the upside
Shares of Verizon (NYSE: VZ) edged higher on news that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) now owns 11 million shares of the telecommunications company.
Earthstone Energy (Nasdaq: ESTE) has acquired privately-held Oak Valley Resources including approximately $138M of cash, in exchange for approximately 9.1 million shares of common stock of Earthstone.
Hyperdynamics (NYSE: HDY) reached a settlement with AGR Well Management Ltd. AGR that involved a drilling project and will receive net proceeds of $15.6 million.
On the downside
Investors were dismayed to learn that Darden (NYSE: DRI) has sold its the struggling Red Lobster for a reported $2.1 billion to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital.
Kamada (Nasdaq: KMDA) announced positive preliminary results from the Phase II/III pivotal clinical trial in Europe and Canada for its treatment of Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. However, Oppenheimer downgraded the stock.
ChinaCache International Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: CCIH) posted higher quarterly revenues, but adjusted net income of $0.4 million missed earnings estimates.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 was near breakeven at 1871. Bitcoin added $1.41 or 0.32% to $444.95.
