Meager Job Creations Weigh Down Markets

A disappointingly meager creation of 18,000 jobs in June weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow plunging 115 points to 12,603. Nasdaq tumbled 27 points to 2845.

On the upside

Barclays Capital upgraded GenOn Energy (NYSE: GEN) to an Overweight rating yesterday.

China Auto Logistics (Nasdaq: CALI) announced yesterday that it raised $5.25 million through the sale of 3 million unregistered common shares at above market price.

SkyPeople Fruit Juice (Nasdaq: SPU) filed a defamation lawsuit against Absaroka Capital Management and its analyst Kevin Barnes.

On the downside

Shine's Room issued a report saying that higher raw materials expenses coupled with weak tire sales have hurt margins at Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE: CTB).

Cleveland Research reported weak second quarter sales at Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS).

Investors locked in profits on TRW Automotive (NYSE: TRW). The company announced yesterday that it was expanding its electrically powered steering systems manufacturing facility in Poland by an additional 9,000 square meters.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 8 points to 849.