A weak job growth report along with a downgrade of chip giant Intel sent the markets tumbling with the Dow closing at 12,800, down 256 points. The tech-laden Nasdaq plunged nearly 100 points to finish the session at 2504.

On the upside

Drugstore chain operator CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) bucked the trend today as the stock edged higher after yesterday's sell-off.

Shares of NovaGold Resources (NYSE: NG) rose after the mining company's Rock Creek permit was upheld by an appeals court.

Shares of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX) rebounded from new 52-week lows following an analyst upgrade.

On the downside

Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) disclosed plans to cut back its core business of making student loans sending its shares to new 52-week lows.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) terminated its $4.1 billion standby revolving credit agreement citing sufficient capital. The stock closed lower, but recovered most of its earlier losses.

The sell-off among tech stocks dragged down shares of high-flyers like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM).

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plunged 23 points to 721.