Market Recap: Sun Healthcare SHINES Amidst a Stock Slaughterhouse

Markets closed down on Wall Street today:

Dow -1.96%,S&P -2.23%, Nasdaq -2.44%, Oil -4.09%, Gold -3.09%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) declined to $78.08 a barrel. Precious metals also declined, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) falling to $1,566 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) fell 1.57% to settle at $26.82.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

U.S. banks — including JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) — will dole out up to $125,000 plus equity to individual clients negatively affected by poorly handled foreclosures in 2009 and 2010, in compliance with a remediation plan announced by bank regulators. Thomas Curry, U.S. comptroller of the currency, released a statement reading: “While we’ve made great strides since we took enforcement action against large mortgage servicers last year, much work is still ahead.”

Don’t Miss: Poorly Handled Foreclosures SPUR These Pay-Outs from Major Banks.

We’ve heard it before, but now there seems to be new evidence corroborating an earlier report that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to shrink its 30-pin dock connector to a 19-pin port in the next iPhone.  TechCrunch on Wednesday offered the most confident claim yet about Apple’s plans for an upcoming “mini dock” connector for Apple’s next-generation iOS devices, rumors of which have been swirling for months.

Sun Healthcare (NASDAQ:SUNH) shares rose almost 37 percent after Genesis HealthCare LLC said it will acquire the company for $8.50 a share; this represents a 38 percent premium over Sun’s Wednesday closing price. The deal is valued at approximately $275 million.

Bed, Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) shares dropped 17 percent after the company said on Wednesday that it had exceeded expectations with a first quarter profit that 15 percent  higher. It did report a downbeat outlook, noting average same-store-sales growth and gross-margin contraction.

Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) shares fell 11.5 percent after the company said it was withdrawing its submission to European regulators for its Revlimid medicine for multiple myeloma; this is a cancer that affects certain white blood cells. Also on Thursday, Celgene said pomalidomide, a thalidomide derivative, would receive a normal review–not a priority one–from the Food and Drug Administration.

Don’t Miss: HEALTHY Drug Stocks Offering a Prescription for Stock Market PAIN.