The markets opened mixed with the Dow slipping 6 points to 16,627 as the nation's economy contracted at a 1% annual rate for the first quarter. Nasdaq rose 5 points to 4,231.
On the upside
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) offered $6.2 billion for Hillshire Brands (NYSE: HSH), which topped the $5.58 billion bid by Pilgrim's Pride (Nasdaq: PPC).
xG Technology (Nasdaq: XGTI) received a new patent for interference mitigation techniques.
Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) widened third quarter losses but revenue soared and the company settled a patent suit with Juniper Networks prompting upgrades.
On the downside
Spherix (Nasdaq: SPEX) announced a $20 million registered direct offering.
ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) narrowed first quarter losses but revenue fell short of analyst expectations.
Investors locked in profits of DARA BioSciences (Nasdaq: DARA).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 2 points to 1911. Bitcoin slipped $3.16 or 0.56% to $563.03.
