The markets extended its losses during the midday as the service sector contracted more than expected in October. The Dow plummeted 205 points to 9421 while Nasdaq plunged 39 points to 1741.
On the upside
Goldman Sachs analyst James Covello initiated coverage of SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) with a Buy rating.Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) will no longer pursue ad advertising partnership with Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) after the Justice Department threatened to block the deal. Shares of Yahoo rose over hopes that acquisition discussions with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) may be renewed.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG) reported higher third quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations.
On the downside
JDA Software Group (Nasdaq: JDAS) may lower its $346 million offer to acquire i2 Technologies (Nasdaq: ITWO).
General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) blamed impairment charges for reporting lower third quarter funds from operations that fell short of estimates. The real estate investment trust also lowered its outlook for 2008
Ambac Financial Group (NYSE: ABK) widened third quarter losses due to exposure to credit derivatives.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plunged 10 points to 536.
