The markets extended its losses during the midday with the Dow plummeting 182 points to 12,642 as global manufacturing activity slowed. Nasdaq plunged 55 points to 2874.
On the upside
Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) continued climbing ahead of the Food and Drug Administration's decision next week regarding the company's weight loss treatment Lorcaserin.
Chelsea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CHTP) reported positive results from two Phase 3 clinical trials of its Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension treatment Northera.
ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) fell to a fourth quarter loss due to an accounting charge but the results topped analyst estimates.
On the downside
Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch both downgraded Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM).
Encana (NYSE: ECA) will increase its capital investment by $600 million this year to drill and develop more wells.
The International Trade Commission affirmed the validity of two Overland Storage (Nasdaq: OVRL) patents but found that BDT did not infringe on Overland's patents.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 17 points 766.
