Unemployment Rate Rises, Markets Open Sharply Lower

The nation's unemployment rate rose to send the markets tumbling to a sharply lower open with the Dow plummeting 120 points to 12,598. Nasdaq plunged 31 points to 2840.

On the upside

Local.com (Nasdaq: LOCM) entered a two year advertising agreement with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG).

Amylin (Nasdaq: AMLN) and Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) reported that their once a week diabetes drug Bydureon did not interfere with heart activity.

Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley cited strong iPod and iPhone sales for lifting his earnings outlook for fiscal year 2011 and 2012 and raising his price target for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to $500.

On the downside

Autoliv (NYSE: ALV) reported that a Department of Justice and European Commission antitrust investigation that began on February 8, 2011 was ongoing and that the duration of the investigation was unknown.

Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA) blamed lower than expected Asia Pacific sales for lowering its second quarter forecast.

Aeroflex (NYSE: ARX) blamed shipment approvals and orders delays for lowering its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 12 points to 845.