The Dow Falls 243 Points, Nasdaq Loses 52

The Dow fell 242.66 points today to close at 12,075.96 the Nasdaq lost 51.72 points to close at 2,350.57, and the S&P 500 fell 28.65 points to close at 1,377.95. Stocks tumble as investors continue to sell out of sub-prime lenders. Even financials with relatively small exposure to sub-prime (ex-JPM, BSC, GS, MER, GM, and CFC) fell 2-5% today. Separately, oil fell $0.98 to close at $57.93.

Volume was heavy with 3.58 billion shares trading on the NYSE and 2.27 billion trading on the Nasdaq.
Decliners crushed Advancers by a margin of 27:6 on the NYSE and 25:6 on the Nasdaq.

In Individual stories, Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) gained 12.4% today after reporting Q4 EPS of $1.05, versus the consensus of $0.98. Revenues came in at $600.8 million versus the consensus of $614.1 million. Sees FY08 EPS of $0.55-$0.65. Accredited Home Lenders Holding (NASDAQ: LEND) fell 64% today after the company said it is currently exploring various strategic options, including raising additional capital to enhance liquidity and provide the Company with the flexibility to retain or sell originated loans based on an assessment of the best overall return.

Tomorrow, investors will be looking for earnings from Clean Harbors (Nasdaq: CLHB), Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) and Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI).

Traders will be looking for economic data on February Import/Export Price Index and Oil Inventories.

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