Vague comments about the timing of the Federal Reserve tapering sent the markets tumbling to a sharply lower close with the Dow plummeting 105 points to 14,897. Nasdaq fell 13 points to 3599.
On the upside
Tuesday Morning (Nasdaq: TUES) widened losses for the fourth quarter and named Michael Rouleau to the position of chief executive officer.
Cowen & Co.’s upgrade of Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) lifted shares of Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) and Renesola (NYSE: SOL).
Dougherty & Co. initiated coverage of BioTelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT) with a Buy rating.
On the downside
Bottomline Technologies (Nasdaq: EPAY) widened fourth quarter losses.
21Vianet Group (Nasdaq: VNET) fell to a greater than expected loss for the second quarter.
UBS downgraded Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE: HMY) from a Neutral rating to a Sell rating.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 9 points to 1642.