The markets opened lower with the Dow falling 45 points to 12,727 as corporations begin reporting earnings after market close. Nasdaq lost 8 points to 2928.
On the upside
WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) will pay approximately $4.46 billion in cash to acquire Amerigroup (NYSE: AGP).
Roth Capital upgraded Nanosphere (Nasdaq: NSPH) to a Buy rating.
Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) will pay a premium of approximately $625 million in cash to acquire FX Alliance (NYSE: FX).
On the downside
Profit taking sank shares of Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX).
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges denied accreditation for Bridgepoint Education's (NYSE: BPI) Ashford University.
FBR Capital Markets downgraded SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) to Market Perform from Outperform.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks dropped 5 points to 801.
Lower Open Ahead Of Earnings
July 09, 2012 at 10:52 AM EDT
