Stocks Dropped, Led by Biotech

U.S. stocks sank on Thursday, led by steep drops in biotech and Internet stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 266.96 points, or 1.62 percent, to 16,170.22. The S&P 500 lost 39.10 points, or 2.09 percent, to 1,833.08. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 129.79 points, or 3.10 percent, to 4,054.11.

The U.S. budget deficit narrowed sharply in March, the Treasury Department reported Thursday, as tax receipts climbed and government spending fell broadly. The government’s shortfall was $37 billion, down 65% compared to the March 2013 deficit of $107 billion.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO), facing an increase in retail competition, is closing about 370 stores and conducting a review to improve its business. The closings, about 4.6 percent of the company’s 8,100 locations, will generate as much as $45 million in annual cost savings beginning in the fiscal third quarter, the Matthews, North Carolina-based company said today in a statement.

General Motors Co. (GM) said recall costs would reach $1.3 billion in the quarter ended March 31. That is on top of a $400 million charge previously disclose for Venezuelan currency fluctuations. In the year earlier quarter, GM earned $1.18 billion.