Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece even further to indicate that the beleaguered country had a high likelihood of defaulting. The markets opened lower with the Dow slipping 6 points to 12,959 while Nasdaq lost 2 points to 2945.
On the upside
Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates as revenue rose.
Fourth quarter earnings climbed for Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) to surpass analyst expectations by a wide margin.
Shares of Threshold Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: THLD) continued rising after reporting upbeat results from a midstage clinical trial of its pancreatic cancer treatment TH-302 yesterday.
On the downside
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) warned that shipments in the fourth quarter will be lower than expected.
Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations and forecast current quarter revenue below estimates.
Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) reported fourth quarter earnings that analyst estimates prompting downgrades.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks held steady at 823.
