Renewed fears that European debt problems will hinder the global economic recovery sent the markets into a tailspin with the Dow plummeting 376 points to 10,068. Nasdaq sank 94 points to 2204.
On the downside
In an antitrust suit against General Electric (NYSE: GE), Mitsubishi accused General Electric of making meritless patent infringement claims against the company and monopolizing the wind turbine market.
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) introduced a new student loan program with no origination fees or early payment fees.
The Motley Fool investment community rated Wave Systems (Nasdaq: WAVX) a one star stock out of five stars.
FormFactor (Nasdaq: FORM) announced that chief executive Mario Ruscev and chief financial officer Jean Bernard Vernet both resigned effective immediately.
Gilead (Nasdaq: GILD) spent $480,000 in the first quarter to lobby the federal government.
Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) reported higher first quarter earnings as revenue rose but the stock price fell.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 10 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 11 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks skidded 34 points to 640.