San Jose’s SunPower Corporation (SPWR) dropped sharply in midday trading, falling more than 8.3 percent, followed by McAfee Inc. (MFE), which fell more than 4.1 percent.

On the positive side, Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) rose more than 5.5 percent, while EBay Inc. (EBAY) rose more than 4.2 percent.

The markets continued their recent downward trend overall, with the Dow Jones falling more than 0.6 percent, the Nasdaq more than 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 more than 0.2 percent.

Local companies in the news today included Cupertino-based Apple Inc. (AAPL), which launched its popular iPhone in Europe today and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), which reported strong third quarter profits Thursday.