Stocks Open Lower as Jobless Claims Hit 16-Year High

The number of new unemployment claims jumped to a 16-year high as investors continued to sell stocks.  Meanwhile, oil prices fell below $50 a barrel.  The Dow lost nearly 150 points to 7848 while Nasdaq gave up 20 points to 1365.

On the upside

PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM) posted solid 3rd quarter results that beat expectations and remained cautiously optimistic about its outlook for the rest of the year.

Gymboree (Nasdaq: GYMB) reported higher profits to surpass Wall Street estimates.  Analysts promptly upgraded the children's apparel retailer.

On the downside

A Saudi prince boosted his stake in Citigroup (NYSE: C) to 5%, but the troubled banking giant was unable to buck the trend across the financial services sector.  Shares of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) fell to multi-year lows.

China-based Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) posted higher 3rd quarter profits, but lowered its revenue forecast due to unfavorable currency rates and weak credit markets.

Shares of home nursing company Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) tumbled after an analyst downgraded the stock on worries of patients not paying their bills.

Woodward Governor (Nasdaq: WGOV) reported profits that met expectations, but analysts worried about a weak global economy impacting sales of the company's energy component systems.

In the broad market, declining issues overwhelmed advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq.  The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 6 points to 406.