The markets recovered steep early morning losses but continued trading in negative territory during the midday with the Dow dropping 74 points to 16,568. Nasdaq fell 21 points to 4,806.

On the upside

The Carlyle Group will acquire Blyth (NYSE: BTH) for a premium of approximately $98 million.
 
Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) extended its private debt exchange offer.

Soaring crude oil prices lifted shares of Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL).

On the downside

ConforMIS (Nasdaq: CFMS) initiated a voluntary recall of specific serial numbers of patient-specific instrumentation for its iUni, iDuo, iTotal CR and iTotal PS knee replacement product systems.
 
Shares of Omeros (Nasdaq: OMER) extended its losses.

Investors locked in profits on Stereotaxis (Nasdaq: STXS).

In the broad market, declining issues barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on the NYSE while advancers outpaced decliners by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 9 points to 1,978. Bitcoin added $2 to $228.