On the upside
Passage of the healthcare bill will increase insured patients at hospitals lifting shares of Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA) and Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC).
Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) rejected Elliott Associates' $2 billion acquisition offer saying that the bid was too low.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) impressed with sharply higher fourth quarter earnings that topped estimates, forecast 2010 results ahead of expectations and increased its quarterly dividend.
On the downside
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) relaxed certain income documentation requirements for loan modifications.
Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) said that demand was mixed during its most recent sale of $4 billion worth of bills.
E-Trade (Nasdaq: ETFC) named Steven Freiberg to replace interim chief executive Robert Druskin and announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped a point to 672.
