Trading Where the Action Is: GM, PTEN, TEVA, KO, IP, WY

Stocks were moving lower by midday in the wake of increased unemployment and a surprisingly disappointing second quarter earnings miss by General Motors

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. Two stocks that are among the fewer names moving higher in the Nasdaq include Patterson Energy
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and Teva Pharmaceuticals

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. In the S&P 500, some of the day’s stronger stocks include Coca Cola
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, International Paper
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and Weyerhaeuser
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.

As for Friday’s big movers, financials continue to be well-represented, with AMBAC Inc.
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and MBIA Inc.
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both up more than 20% by midday. And in spite of the pressure the markets are experiencing, the number of stocks that are down by a large margin remains relatively modest.

Here is a list of stocks that have gained 20% or more so far in trading today.

Name Symbol % Up
AMBAC Inc. ABK +40.87
Astronics Corporation ATRO +33.16
Innophos Holdings Inc. IPHS +32.79
Radian Group Inc. RDN +31.61
The Scotts Company SMG +31.01
The PMI Group, Inc. PMI +29.08
Security Capital Assurance SCA +27.37
Ram Holdings Ltd. RAMR +26.51
USA Mobility Inc. USMO +23.03
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. PEET +22.06
MBIA Inc. MBI +21.38

Here is a list of stocks that have lost 20% or more so far in trading today.

Name Symbol % Down
Chesapeake Corporation CSK -54.20
Elan Corporation PLC ELN -54.20
Paetec Holding Corporation PAET -43.12
Building Materials Holding Corporation BLG -32.26
Biogen Idec Inc. BIIB -25.44
Transition Therapeutics Inc. TTHI -21.41

Source: MarketWatch

For a list of today’s top-rated stocks, click here.

David Penn is Senior Editor at TradingMarkets.com.