Stocks Fall on Worries about Banks

SunOpta (STKL) shares fell 36.7% after the company said inventories within its Fruit Group's berry operations require a write-down to their net realizable value. A preliminary estimate shows an adjustment of $9 million to $11 million for this issue and related items is necessary. The operator of natural and organic food markets expects 2007 earnings of 12 to 14 cents per share.

Synaptics (SYNA) dropped 23.4% after the company posted a second-quarter profit of 50 cents vs. 32 cents per share a year ago on a 30% revenue increase. The developer of customized interface solutions expects third-quarter revenue to drop to between $76 million and $82 million from $98.7 million in the second quarter and sees 11% to 19% revenue growth for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. While the third-quarter revenue forecast is lower than consensus, Oppenheimer said it thinks the worst should be over in the third quarter and would be a buyer on the stock price pullback.

VistaPrint (VPRT) shares rose 11.6% after the online supplier of graphic design services posted earnings of 24 cents poer share in the fourth quarter vs. 18 cents a year ago on a 64% jump in revenue. Standard & Poor's raised its earnings estimate and target price, but maintained its hold rating.

ScanSource (SCSC) shares shot up 19.2% after the company reported second-quarter GAAP earnings of 59 cents vs. 34 cents per share a year ago on 17% higher sales. The wholesdale distributor of specailty technology products sees third-quarter revenue of $550 million to $570 million and said it's received written notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission that its investigation into the company's historical stock option grant practices had been completed and that no enforcement action was recommended. Bear Stearns upgrades the stock to peer perform from underperform.

Asian stock indexes finished much stronger. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 4.10% higher at 13,629.16, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 6.73% to trade at 25,122.37.

European equity markets reversed earlier gains to finish lower on Friday. In London, the FTSE 100 Index inched down 0.12% to 5,869.00. In Paris, the CAC 40 Index slid 0.76% to 4,878.12, and in Germany, the DAX Index was off 0.06% at 6,816.74.

Treasury market

Treasury bonds were one again benefiting from a flight to safety. The 2-year note climbed 07/32 to 101-31/32 for a yield of 2.19%. The 10-year note rose 1-07/32 to 105-20/32 for a yield of 3.56%. The 30-year bond leaped 2-07/32 to 112-05/32 for a yield of 4.27%.

Bogoslaw is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel .