Greek leaders agreed on severe austerity measures yesterday but European finance ministers insisted on additional conditions before releasing a second round of bailout funds Greece. The markets opened sharply lower with the Dow plunging 126 points to 12,758 while Nasdaq tumbled 27 points to 2899.
On the upside
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter and swung to a profit for the full year.
Cobalt International Energy (NYSE: CIE) reported better than expected results from pre-salt exploration prospects at a deep sea oil well offshore of Angola.
LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) reported sharply higher fourth quarter earnings that more than doubled to surpass analyst expectations.
On the downside
Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN) swung to a profit for the first quarter but the results fell short of expectations.
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) announced that a rupture of a rise pipe will shutter production for sixty days at its Carioca Northeast field.
XL (NYSE: XL) blamed an impairment charge for falling to an unexpected loss for the fourth quarter.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 6 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 11 points to 813.