Concerns about a contracting global economy weighed the markets down to a lower close with the Dow dropping 78 points to 13,046. Nasdaq fell 12 points to 3063.

On the upside

Needham analyst Richard Kugele upgraded Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to a Strong Buy rating and lifted his price target from $50 to $66.

Shares of Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) continued rising after reports surfaced yesterday that the company was close to signing a deal to acquire Actavis.

Dollar General (NYSE: DG) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations and forecast 2012 revenue ahead of estimates.

On the downside

Cenveo (NYSE: CVO) amended its pending cash tender offer.

Citigroup initiated coverage of The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) with a Sell rating.

Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) will offer common stock in order to raise capital.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 8 points to 821.