Lower home prices along with a drop in consumer confidence weighed the markets down to a lower close with the Dow slipping 20 points to 12,632. Nasdaq added a point to 2813.

On the upside

MicroStockProfit.com issued a research report on FriendFinder Networks (Nasdaq: FFN).

A Seeking Alpha contributor affirmed a Strong Buy rating for Gafisa (NYSE: GFA).

Parexel International (Nasdaq: PRXL) reported lower second quarter earnings but revenue climbed and the company's backlog increased.

On the downside

MannKind (Nasdaq: MNKD) will sell $50 million worth of stock and warrants through a public offering.

Rex Energy (Nasdaq: REXX) announced a public offering of 7 million common shares.

Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a fraction to 792.