U.S. Stocks And Gold Tank On Tepid China Growth

U.S. equity markets ended sharply lower, with losses accelerating near the closing bell following news of explosions at the Boston Marathon.

Earlier in the day, stocks slid after surprisingly bearish Q1 GDP data out of China and less optimism among home builders sparked a sell-off that spread through all sectors, with precious metals and energy taking the brunt of the beat down.

China's Q1 GDP rose 7.7% -- below the 8% gain forecast by economists surveyed by both the Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters -- and below the 7.9% growth China posted in Q4. Other data released by China showed March industrial production increased 8.9% from the year-earlier period, missing the Dow Jones Newswires forecast for a 10% gain. The growth was the weakest in more than a year.

U.S. Housing
Declines deepened after a report showed the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing-market index dropped to 42 in April from 44 in March, short of a forecast rise to 46. Ahead of the bell, an Empire State manufacturing index fell to 3.1 points in April from 9.2 in March, below forecasts calling for an index of 7.8 and the slowest reading since January.

Gold Plummets
With China as the major worldwide driver of commodities prices, this data has prompted a global sell-off among most commodities. Oil shed 2.8% of its value in Monday's session to close at $88.71 a barrel, its lowest price of the year. Comex May copper ended down 3.5% at a 15-Month Low of $3.2330 on China's Disappointing GDP. Gold futures continued to experience downside pressure through the day's session and closed down 9.3% at $1,361.10 an ounce. This was the biggest one-day price drop that the metal has experienced since the 1980's. May silver ended down 11%.

Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End

• NYSE Composite down 2.35% at 8,971.92
• Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.69% at 14,613.63
• S&P 500 down 2.3% at 1,552.38
• Nasdaq Composite Index down 2.38% at 3,216.49

• Nikkei 225 Index down 1.55%
• Hang Seng Index down 1.43%
• Shanghai China Composite Index down 1.12%
• FTSE 100 down 0.65%
• DAX down 0.46%
• CAC 40 down 0.67%

• (+ ) QLTI, Rallies after the company said its board of directors approved a $200 million special distribution to shareholders, twice the amount initially announced.
• (+) BCRX, Adds to last week's gains experienced as the number of bird flu cases in China increases. According to CBC, the number of deaths due to the flu has hit 14, while there are 61 confirmed cases. Last Monday, BCRX rallied at least 21% after China expedited the approval of the company's anti-flu drug, Permavir, as three more cases of the H7N9 virus were diagnosed.
• (+) THRX, FDA says the efficacy data for Breo, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Theravance's experimental drug for pulmonary disease, are not consistent, Reuters reports. Reviewers did say the data appears to support the drug's ability to reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations.

• (-) DSCO , Reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has requested clarification and provided recommendations regarding the recently-updated product specifications for SURFAXIN, DSCO's medication for the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature babies whose lungs have not fully developed.
• (-) ABX, Hit new 52-week low of $19.92 as gold prices continue to fall. The stock has also fallen under pressure since the April 10 announcement that the company was suspending construction at its Pascua-Lama gold and silver project, in response to a court order from Chilean authorities.
• (-) UNTK, Plunges following last Friday's announcement that it will restate its financial results for the interim periods ended March 2012, June 2012 and September 29, 2012, as well as for the fiscal year ended December 2011 and the interim period ended October 1, 2011. The restatement arises out of an internal probe revealing that several employees of UniTek's Pinnacle Wireless unit engaged in fraudulent activities that resulted in improper revenue recognition.