The markets opened lower with the Dow losing 56 points to 10,953 ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting. Nasdaq slipped 7 points to 2394.
On the upside
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) will pay approximately $3.6 billion in cash to acquire King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG).
Identity security products company ActivIdentity (Nasdaq: ACTI) will be acquired by HID Global parent company Assa Abloy in an all cash deal valued at approximately $162 million.
The U.K.'s Daily Mail reported that L'Oreal may be exploring the possible acquisition of Avon (NYSE: AVP).
On the downside
Morgan Keegan initiated coverage of YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCWD) with an Underperform rating.
Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Cott (NYSE: COT).
Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) disappointed with lower first quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 2 on Nasdaq.
