Gain In Unemployment Rate Weighs Down Markets

A greater than expected increase of the nation's unemployment rate to 9.2% sent the markets down to a lower close with the Dow dropping 62 points to 12,657. Nasdaq lost 12 points to 2859.

On the upside

FriendFinder Networks (Nasdaq: FFN) will pay $15 million to settle a litigation matter with Broadstream Capital Partners.

Shares of Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) rose in anticipation of the release of a new environmental impact study for the Tia Maria copper deposit.

A Zacks.com article said that Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) was a strong buy.

On the downside

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed charges against Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG) for engaging in unlawful debt collection practices.

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) submitted a bid to acquire a $2.3 billion stake in Hynix Semiconductor.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) to a Sell rating and lowered it price target to $8.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 5 points to 852.