Fears of a double dip recession sent the markets tumbling to a sharply lower close with the Dow plummeting 172 points to 10,817. Nasdaq plunged 38 points to 2341.

On the upside

Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq: MENT) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the second quarter.

Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) reported higher second quarter earnings as revenue rose to top analyst estimates.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Seattle Genetics' (Nasdaq: SGEN) cancer treatment Adcetris.

On the downside

Instead of acquiring Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) for $1 billion, Liberty Media will now invest $204 million in the book retailer.

Glu Mobile (Nasdaq: GLUU) introduced its popular Bug Village mobile game for the Windows Phone 7 platform but the stock price fell.

London's High Court ordered private detective Glenn Mulcaire to name the News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWS) reporter who hired him to engage in illegal phone hacking.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 8 to 3 on the NYSE and by 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 10 points to 651.