Concerns that the Federal Reserve may begin tapering its bond buying program weighed the markets down to a lower close with the Dow falling 68 points to 15,821. Nasdaq slipped 4 points to 4033.

On the upside 

Mattress Firm Holding (Nasdaq: MFRM) reported higher third quarter earnings as revenue climbed and forecast current quarter earnings ahead of estimates.

Receptos (Nasdaq: RCPT) will begin a Phase 3 trial of RPC1063 in relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Third quarter earnings rose for Dollar General (NYSE: DG) to top analyst expectations.

On the downside

TheStreet.com’s Adam Feuerstein tweeted that Keryx (Nasdaq: KERX) was not likely to receive New Chemical Entity status for Zerenex. 

Shares of BioTelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT) continued falling on news that Medicare reimbursements would drop.

Crestwood Equity Partners (NYSE: CEQP) warned of continued weakness in Gulf Coast natural gas storage fundamentals.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 7 points to 1785. Bitcoin tumbled $102.46 or 8.50% to $1,102.58.