Despite better than expected earnings at Morgan Stanley, the markets pulled back in afternoon trading to close sharply lower as fears of liquidity problems resurfaced. The Dow plunged 293 points to 12,100 while Nasdaq plummeted 58 points to 2210.
On the upside
Second quarter earnings for Lindsay (NYSE: LNN) more than tripled as revenue rose and margins improved.
Two of Xinhua Finance Media's (Nasdaq: XFML) finance television programs will now be seen on 80 channels throughout 24 of China's 31 provinces.
National City Corp. (NYSE: NCC) will record a $450 million cash gain from selling part of its stake in Visa (NYSE: V), which surged in its market debut today.
On the downside
Capital Corp. of the West (Nasdaq: CCOW) delayed filing its annual report after determining that certain loans required an adverse classification.
Centene (Nasdaq: CNC) warned that earnings will fall short due to unexpectedly high medical costs. The health insurer also announced an $80 million offer to purchase Celtic Group.
Shares of Monsanto (NYSE: MON) plunged after France's State Council upheld a government ban on genetically modified crop.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plummeted 18 points to 664.
