Nazz Leads Retreat

Tower agreed that institutional investors beat retail ones to the punch; unfortunately for the small investor, this is normally the case. "The institutional side has been waiting for a correction since last June, and they couldn't wait any longer. Now, more money is flowing into mutual funds from retail."

Some investors may still be nostalgic for the glory days of the late 1990s, but Briggs is thankful demand is what it is. "It is clearly not as robust as it was [during the bubble], but it is as healthy as it has been since."

Movers

Novellus (NVLS Quote) bettered fourth-quarter profit expectations after the close Monday, but the semiconductor-equipment maker said it expects to earn only 8 cents in the first quarter, well below the consensus. The stock tumbled $5.85, or 14.5%, to $34.40.

Semiconductor stocks came under extreme pressure following Novellus' disappointing guidance; the Philadelphia Semiconductor index was off 4.2% on the day.

Meanwhile, Pepsi Bottling(PBG Quote) said Tuesday that it earned 30 cents a share in the fourth quarter, excluding items, which was ahead of analysts' 28-cents-a-share projection. Revenue was up about 17%. Pepsi climbed 40 cents, or 1.6%, to $26.24.

DuPont(DD Quote) had quarterly earnings of 29 cents a share, before items, on a sales increase of 14%. Analysts' consensus was for 25 cents a share. The stock lost 46 cents, or 1.1%, to $42.62.

Raytheon(RTN Quote) matched analysts' quarterly expectations with earnings of 52 cents a share, excluding items. Total sales increased 9.4%. The company's stock dipped 61 cents, or 1.9%, to $31.61.

Lockheed Martin (LMT Quote) earned 75 cents a share in its quarter, excluding a gain of 2 cents a share from the sale of its commercial IT unit, missing analysts' expectations by just a penny; the company also raised its forecast for pension costs. Lockheed shares slumped $1.45, or 2.8%, to $50.15.