Increased job losses weighed down the markets during the midday with the Dow plummeting 119 points to 11,921. Nasdaq lost 10 points to 2211.

On the upside

iStar Financial (NYSE: SFI) declared a regular quarterly dividend of 87 cents per common share payable on April 30, 2008 to shareholders of record March 17, 2008.

AbitibiBowater (NYSE: ABH) announced a $1.4 billion refinancing plan through the issuance of senior secured and non-secured notes.

While Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK) swung to a loss for the first quarter, revenue surpassed estimates.

On the downside

AngioDynamics (Nasdaq: ANGO) warned that third quarter revenue will fall short of estimates despite increased sales.

Fourth quarter earnings edged up for Dynamic Materials (Nasdaq: BOOM) but the results fell shy of estimates while the company forecast disappointing first quarter profit.

New Mexico state regulators approved a rate increase that was a fraction of the $76.9 million requested by PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM).

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 662.