Dow Falls Below 12,000
The markets extended its losses during the midday with the Dow plummeting 134 points to 11,991 over continued concerns about the stagnant economic recovery. Nasdaq tumbled 29 points to 2655.
On the upside
Chelsea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CHTP) reported positive Phase III results for its symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension treatment Northera prompting Roth Capital to lift its price target on the pharmaceutical from $6 to $18.
Morgan Stanley said that steel prices are poised to recover and recommended that investors purchase AK Steel (NYSE: AKS).
Micromet (Nasdaq: MITI) reported upbeat results from a midstage clinical trial of its leukemia treatment blinatumomab.
On the downside
In the Bedford Report's examination of the office supplies industry, Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) chief executive Ron Sargent suggested that Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) should merge.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jeff Osborne cited falling solar wafer prices for downgrading MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR).
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgraded Zale (NYSE: ZLC) to a Neutral rating citing limited upside potential.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 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 11 points to 780.
