On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration approved Geron's (Nasdaq: GERN) study to treat spinal cord injuries with human embryonic stem cells, the first study of its kind in the world.
Although MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR) reported sharply lower fourth quarter earnings and revenue, the results topped analyst estimates.
Fourth quarter earnings plunged for Tempur-Pedic International (NYSE: TPX) as sales plunged but the results beat expectations.
On the downside
The chief executive of Citizens Republic Bancorp (Nasdaq: CRBC), William Hartman, announced that he will retire at the end of the month and will be replaced by Cathleen Nash.UCBH Holdings (Nasdaq: UCBH) swung to a loss for the fourth quarter as loan loss provisions soared.
Although Microsemi (Nasdaq: MSCC) reported higher first quarter earnings, the chip maker forecast second quarter results well below analyst estimates.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost a fraction to 442.
