The number of new unemployment claims jumped to a 16-year high as investors continued to sell stocks. Meanwhile, oil prices fell below $50 a barrel. The Dow lost nearly 150 points to 7848 while Nasdaq gave up 20 points to 1365.
On the upside
PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM) posted solid 3rd quarter results that beat expectations and remained cautiously optimistic about its outlook for the rest of the year.
Gymboree (Nasdaq: GYMB) reported higher profits to surpass Wall Street estimates. Analysts promptly upgraded the children's apparel retailer.
On the downside
A Saudi prince boosted his stake in Citigroup (NYSE: C) to 5%, but the troubled banking giant was unable to buck the trend across the financial services sector. Shares of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) fell to multi-year lows.China-based Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) posted higher 3rd quarter profits, but lowered its revenue forecast due to unfavorable currency rates and weak credit markets.
Shares of home nursing company Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) tumbled after an analyst downgraded the stock on worries of patients not paying their bills.
Woodward Governor (Nasdaq: WGOV) reported profits that met expectations, but analysts worried about a weak global economy impacting sales of the company's energy component systems.
In the broad market, declining
issues overwhelmed advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 1 on the
NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks
small cap stocks lost 6 points to 406.
