Drop In GDP Fuels Fears Of Further Economic Malaise

A sharp drop in the GDP fueled fears of further economic malaise to send the markets tumbling to a lower close with the Dow plunging 148 points to 8001. Nasdaq plummeted 31 points to 1476.

On the upside

MIPS Technologies (Nasdaq: MIPS) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the second quarter.

Fourth quarter earnings for SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA) rose as revenue surged.

Pluristem Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PSTI) will raise $1.2 million through the sale of restricted common shares and warrants.

On the downside

Shares of DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) continued to fall after announcing yesterday that the drybulk shipper was in violation of financial terms of some of its debt.

Bernstein & Co. analyst Kevin St. Pierre downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE: FITB) and lowered his price target on the regional bank saying that it will need a such a large infusion of capital that investors will be significantly diluted.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) blamed the economic downturn for weak first quarter ticket sales.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 10 points to 444.