The markets opened sharply lower with the Dow plummeting 163 points to 16,210 as January manufacturing activity contracted in China. Nasdaq plunged 40 points to 4202.
On the upside
Fourth quarter earnings surged sixfold for Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) to surpass analyst expectations by a wide margin as 2.3 million U.S. subscribers joined the Internet video service.
F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV) reported a small drop in first quarter earnings but revenue rose and the results topped analyst estimates.
Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO) fell to a loss for the second quarter as revenue dropped but the results were better than expected.
On the downside
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority terminated negotiations with Cleveland BioLabs (Nasdaq: CBLI) to further develop Entolimod.
Capital One downgraded Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO) from an Overweight rating to an Equal Weight rating.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) disappointed with a larger than expected loss for the fourth quarter as smartphone sales plummeted.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by a margin of 7 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 17 points to 1826. Bitcoin held steady at $936.00.
