On the upside
Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM) reported higher 4th quarter profits as demand for Internet bandwidth services rose.Blackboard (Nasdaq: BBBB) posted lower 4th quarter profits which met expectations as revenues rose for the educational materials and services provider.
Shares of Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) rose after the audio equipment company reported higher quarterly revenues and profits while raising its 2009 forecast.
On the downside
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) posted lower quarterly profits late yesterday while lowering its revenue outlook for 2009.Shares of Botox maker Allergan (NYSE: AGN) fell after the company announced job cuts yesterday in order to reign in expenses.
Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) fell to their lowest levels since 1984 as the selling accelerated among mutual funds unable to hold stock that trade below $5 a share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 4 points to 444.