-$3.72
17.5%
Shares of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. tumbled to $17.56. Retailers that reported declines in February same-store sales fell. Gap Inc. retreated $1.15, or 5.6 percent, to $19.37. J.C. Penney Co. dropped $5.34, or 11.1 percent, to $42.77. Saks Inc. sank $2.20, or 14.4 percent, to $13.04, after being downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by a Bank of America Corp. analyst.
-$1.04
8.1%
Shares of Washington Mutual Inc. slumped to $11.76. The nation’s largest thrift capped its steepest seven-day drop, 31.5 percent, in more than 20 years after Standard & Poor’s lowered its credit rating to BBB from BBB-plus and said another cut is possible.
-$1.28
14.7%
Shares of Ambac Financial Group Inc. sagged to $7.42. JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the bond insurer, which is seeking capital to salvage its triple-A credit rating, might need more financing to avoid a downgrade.
$0.59
3.4%
H&R Block Inc. stock rose to $17.83. The shares gained the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 after the nation’s biggest tax preparer said its third-quarter loss narrowed on higher revenue from tax filings.
$3.31
5%
Joy Global Inc. stock jumped to $69.11. The Milwaukee-based maker of mining equipment lifted its 2008 forecasts and reported first-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.
$0.43
2.3%
Oracle Corp. stock increased to $19.23. The nation’s third-largest softwaremaker was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Merrill Lynch & Co.
