The markets opened sharply lower as jobless claims rose to a 7-year high. The
Dow slid more than 200 points to 10,610 while Nasdaq tumbled 45 points to 2024.
On the upside
Shares of Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) and National City (NYSE: NCC) continued to rally as bargain hunters viewed regional banks as a beneficiary to the pending $700 billion financial rescue package.
United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA) announced plans to raise capital to boost its cash position by $275 million.
On the downside
Mosaic (NYSE: MOS), a fertilizer maker, reported results that missed expectations as investors sold off the stock. Shares of rival Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) also tumbled.General Electric (NYSE: GE) priced more than half a billion shares at $22.25. The stock promptly fell on the dilution.
A Goldman Sachs analyst downgraded Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) and gave a sell recommendation to the content delivery provider.
Analysts also worried that a shrinking economy may reduce trucking and shipping volume. Shares of YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW) and Old Dominion Freight Line (Nasdaq: ODFL) skidded.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 7 points to 664.
