The markets opened lower with the Dow losing 42 points to 12,357 while Nasdaq slipped 3 points to 2785 after China raised interest rates.
On the upside
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) will pay approximately $6.5 billion to acquire National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM).
Cubist Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CBST) settled a patent dispute with Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA) by agreeing to license its antibiotic Cubicin to Teva to produce a generic version of the injectable product.
Intersil (Nasdaq: ISIL) introduced yesterday the industry's first ambient light sensor for automotive applications.
On the downside
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) widened first quarter losses more than expected as orders plunged.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) to a Sell rating.
Kayne Anderson (NYSE: KYN) priced its follow-on offering of 5.7 million common shares at $30.58 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 848.
