Escalating tensions in Syria sent the markets down to a sharply lower open with the Dow plunging 96 points to 14,850. Nasdaq tumbled 39 points to 3618.

On the upside

The Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Partners' (Nasdaq: CPRX) Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome treatment Firdapse.

Akorn (Nasdaq: AKRX) will pay a premium of approximately $640 million in cash to acquire rival generic drug maker Hi-Tech Pharmacal (Nasdaq: HITK).

MannKind (Nasdaq: MNKD) published Frequently Asked Questions about the Affinity 1 and Affinity 2 trials of its inhaled insulin product Afrezza.

On the downside

LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) narrowed second quarter losses but its cash equivalents plunged.

Investors locked in profits on SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE).

Integrated Device Technology (Nasdaq: IDTI) president and chief executive officer Ted Tewkbury resigned.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 14 points to 1642.