The markets extended its losses during the midday with the Dow falling 44 points to 24,738. Nasdaq slipped 7 points to 6,958.
Bitcoin plunged more than 20% this morning and sparked a sell-off of other cryptocurrencies. Ethereum and Litecoin both tumbled 20% while Bitcoin Cash crashed 30%. The market value of Bitcoin has collapsed by more than $120 billion in less than a week.
UnitedHealth Group will pay approximately $2.8 billion to acquire Banmedica SA. The deal will establish a presence in South America for UnitedHealth. Banmedica is a financial holding company in Chile that provides insurance policies and medical services through its subsidiaries.
Papa John's founder and chief executive John Schnatter will be replaced by chief operating officer Steve Ritchie on January 1, 2018. Last month, Schnatter criticized National Football League players who kneeled during the national anthem and blamed the controversy for slumping sales. The inflammatory comments prompted a backlash on social media while the alt-right declared Papa John's the official pizza of the alt-right.
In the broad market, advancing outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 4 to 3 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by more than 4 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped 2 points to 2,682. Bitcoin crashed $2,214 to $13,422.
