On the upside
Children's Place Retail Stores (Nasdaq: PLCE) reported flat same store sales, which was better than the expected 3.6% drop.
Although Coldwater Creek (Nasdaq: CWTR) widened fourth quarter losses due to fallling sales, the results topped analyst estimates.
Jefferies & Co. analyst Ross MacMillan upgraded Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE) after the software company said that first quarter earnings will beat expectations.
On the downside
Moody's Investors Service cited concerns of further loan losses for placing Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) on review for possible ratings downgrades.Darling International (NYSE: DAR) swung to a loss for the fourth quarter as sales dropped.
Shares of aluminum maker Alcoa (NYSE: AA) tumbled after the Chinese government failed to unveil an economic stimulus plan.
In the broad market, declining issues overwhelmed advancers by a margin of nearly 9 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slumped 22 points to 349.
