Risky European Debt Weighs Markets Down To Lower Open

Concerns that European banks may hold more risky debt than previously revealed sent the markets down to a lower open with the Dow dropping 89 points to 10,358. Nasdaq fell 17 points to 2216.

On the upside

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) named former Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) chief executive Mark Hurd to the position of co-president to replace Charles Phillips after his resignation.

Private equity firm Onex Corp. will pay approximately $390 million in cash to acquire ResCare (Nasdaq: RSCR) .

Morgan Stanley cited greater than expected orders for Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) latest smartphone N8 for upgrading the mobile device company.

On the downside

The Food and Drug Adminstration placed two of Idenix Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: IDIX) hepatitis C drugs on hold citing safety concerns.

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) filed for a mixed shelf offering for an undisclosed amount and received an extended waiver for its $230 million loan facilities.

GT Solar International (Nasdaq: SOLR) stockholder GT Solar Holdings will sell 10 million of its common shares.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 8 points to 635.