NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Shares in the nation's largest office supply retailers sank Wednesday morning after a series of high-profile downgrades. In other major stock swings, a drug maker soared after clearing a regulatory hurdle, while shares in a Canadian bank plunged after announcing an acquisition.
In one of the morning's biggest sector plunges, investors rushed to sell shares in the three main office supply retailers after the companies were downgraded to "market perform" from "buy" by Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.
Shares in Framingham, Mass.-based Staples (SPLS) fell 1-7/8, or 7 percent, to 24-1/2 in heavy Nasdaq volume of more than 2.8 million shares. Stock in Shaker Heights, Ohio-based OfficeMax (OMX) dropped ¾, or 7 percent, to 9-7/16. And shares of Delray Beach, Fla.-based Office Depot (ODP) lost 1-1/16, or 6 percent, to 15-7/8.
Stock in Diatide, Inc. (DITI) soared after the company said it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market NeoTect, a drug for detecting malignant tumors in the lung. Shares of the Londonderry, N.H.-based company rose 1-31/32, or 32 percent, to 8-3/32.
But shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) plunged after the company said Tuesday it would buy CT Financial Services Inc., a Canadian trust company, for C$8 billion. Toronto-Dominion also declared a two-for-one stock split after the close of trading Wednesday.
Toronto-Dominion stock lost nearly half of its value, sinking 18-3/4 to 19-3/8.
Several stocks battered Tuesday were gainers Wednesday, as investors apparently sought bargains.
Shares of Westbury, N.Y.-based 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS), which fell in its debut Tuesday, gained 7/16, or 2 percent, to 18-5/8.
Unumprovident (UNM), the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurer whose shares sank after earnings disappointments and a series of high-profile downgrades, reversed course. The stock rose 1-15/16, or 5 percent, to 38-1/8.
On Wednesday, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette upgraded the company to "top pick" from "buy." 
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