Concerns of an expanding European debt crisis weighed the markets down to a sharply lower open with the Dow plunging 117 points to 11,978. Nasdaq dropped 19 points to 2667.
On the upside
Target (NYSE: TGT) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PCRX) priced its public offering of 7 million common shares at $6.50 per share.
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) continued rising after Motley Fool recommended the stock yesterday.
On the downside
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) reported higher third quarter earnings but the results fell far short of analyst expectations.
Rising crude oil prices weighed down shares of refiners HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) and Western Refining (NYSE: WNR).
Unilife (Nasdaq: UNIS) priced its public offering of 8.25 million common shares at $4.35 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 6 points to 736.
