The nation's unemployment rate fell to 5.6% but the markets opened lower with the Dow dropping 78 points to 17,827 as average hourly earnings slipped. Nasdaq lost 14 points to 4,722.
On the upside
Agenus (Nasdaq: AGEN) entered a global alliance with Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY) to develop, license and commercialize immuno-therapeutics using Agenus' proprietary Retrocyte Display antibody discovery platform.
Health Canada approved EDAP's (Nasdaq: EDAP) Focal One HIFU device to treat prostate cancer.
JD.com and Tencent Holdings will invest approximately $1.3 billion in Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA).
On the downside
Conatus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CNAT) reported disappointing results for its emricasan in treating severe liver disease.
Star Bulk Carriers (Nasdaq: SBLK) priced its public offering of approximately 49 million common shares at the discounted price of $5.00 per share.
Five Below (Nasdaq: FIVE) reported a smaller than expected 3% increase in same store sales and trimmed its fourth quarter outlook.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 7 points to 2055. Bitcoin edged up a fraction to $280.
Lower open as average hourly earnings slip
January 09, 2015 at 09:43 AM EST