Existing home sales soared by a much larger than expected 7.6% but the markets opened mixed with the Dow losing 34 points to 10,159 while Nasdaq rose 8 points to 2237 over continued concerns about European debt.
On the upside
Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq: GTIV) will pay approximately $1 billion in cash to acquire Odyssey Healthcare (Nasdaq: ODSY).
Goldman Sachs upgraded Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) to a Buy rating and lifted its price target on the company from $3.50 to $6.
The Department of Energy awarded Capstone Turbine (Nasdaq: CPST) a $5 million contract to develop a more efficient microturbine.
On the downside
More than a month after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, BP (NYSE: BP) is still unable to contain the oil spill fouling the waters and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dreamworks Animation's (Nasdaq: DWA) "Shrek Forever After" earned far less than expected at the box office on its opening weekend.
Shares of Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) fell after Goldman Sachs said that the restructuring of banks in Spain continues to be too slow .
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 2 points to 646.
