MarketView for April 10

Summary

The Nasdaq suffered its largest decline in two-and-a-half years on Thursday after another sharp selloff in biotech and momentum names, including Gilead Sciences and TripAdvisor, increasing investor anxiety over the possibility of even further declines.

Alexion Pharma was the S&P 500's biggest loser, off 7.5 percent, closing at $144.19, followed by Gilead Sciences, down 7.3 percent at $65.48, and TripAdvisor, down 7 percent at $81.90.

The Nasdaq biotechnology index .NBI was down 5.6 percent, its largest one-day drop since August 2011, adding to recent losses since a large drop in Gilead more than two weeks ago triggered a wider selloff for biotechs. That index is now down 18.8 percent since its February 25 record close.

The S&P 500 also posted its largest percentage loss since February 3, while the Nasdaq has dropped 7 percent from its closing high for the year, set on March 5. All stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index posted a loss, with the exception of CH Robinson Worldwide, which ended up 1.6 percent at $53.80.

The selling also hit the shares of three companies in their first day of public trading after their initial public offerings were priced on Wednesday night. All three IPOs ended lower.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's measure of investor anxiety, rose 15 percent, its largest daily percentage gain since February 3, to end at 15.89.

The move was a sharp reversal from the previous day, when shares rallied after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policymakers' meeting showed members were keen to keep rates low than previously expected.

The Nasdaq Composite index fell 129.794 points or 3.1 percent - its largest daily percentage loss since November 9, 2011, while the S&P 500 closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since February 10.

The stock of bailed-out auto lender Ally Financial was down 4.1 percent to close at $23.98 in its market debut. Cerulean Pharma and Adamas Pharmaceuticals also slid in their trading debuts. Cerulean fell 2.1 percent to close at $6.85, while Adamas lost 12.4 percent to end at $14.01.

Among Internet-related tech shares, which were among last year's largest advancers, Facebook fell 5.2 percent to end the day at $59.16, while Netflix was down 5.2 percent to close at $334.73.

Among other big decliners, shares of Imperva fell 43.7 percent to $28 after the data center security company reported preliminary first-quarter results. Rival FireEye lost 11.8 percent to $49.75.

On the earnings front, Bed, Bath & Beyond slumped 6.2 percent to $63.72 after the home-goods retailer reported fourth-quarter sales that fell from a year ago and gave a first-quarter outlook that was below expectations.

The day's economic data was encouraging, however, with initial jobless claims dropping sharply last week to the lowest in almost seven years, suggesting job growth may be picking up after a harsh winter.

After the bell, shares of Gap dropped 2.4 percent to $38.33. The slide followed the clothing retailer's report on its March sales and reaffirmation of its 2014 outlook. In contrast, shares of H&R Block rose 7.7 percent to $30.60 in extended-hours trading after the company said it would sell some assets and transfer certain liabilities to BofI Federal Bank.

Volume was high, with 7.5 billion shares changing hands on the major equity exchanges, a number that was well above the 6.8 billion share average so far this month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.