On the upside
Fourth quarter earnings for Pride International (NYSE: PDE) soared as utilization rates climbed at the company's deepwater and midwater fleets.Hornbeck Offshore (NYSE: HOS) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations as revenue rose.
Suntrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Robin Muchison upgraded Dress Barn (Nasdaq: DBRN) after the women's apparel retailer affirmed its outlook for 2009.
On the downside
Vasco Data Security (Nasdaq: VDSI) blamed the sluggish economy along with higher expenses for fourth quarter results that fell short of estimates.
Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) defaulted on its revolving credit facility and private notes.
Fears that the federal government may seize control of troubled banks sent shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) tumbling.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 6 points to 417.
