Despite strong March retail sales, the markets closed mixed with the Dow losing 14 points to 13,069 over concerns about the European economy. Nasdaq gained 12 points to 3080.
On the upside
The Transparency Commission of the French National Health Authority issued a favorable opinion for the reimbursement of InterMune's (Nasdaq: ITMN) Esbriet.
Corvex Management acquired a 7.04% stake in Corrections Corp. of America (NYSE: CXW) and may convert Corrections Corp. into a real estate investment trust.
Goldman Sachs analyst Julio Quinteros upgraded VeriFone Systems (NYSE: PAY) from Neutral to a Buy rating and set a $63 price target.
On the downside
Analysts expect SuperValu (Nasdaq: SVU) to report lower fourth quarter earnings next Thursday.
CarMax (NYSE: KMX) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates but profit margins fell.
March same store sales climbed by a less than expected 6.4% for The Buckle (NYSE: BKE).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 818.
