It was a mixed close for the markets as the Dow rebounded in late afternoon trading even as congressional leaders continued intense negotiations to hammer out a bailout plan. The Dow soared 121 points to 11,143 while Nasdaq lost 3 points to 2183.
On the upside
Surging revenue boosted second quarter earnings for AZZ (NYSE: AZZ) to surpass estimates by a wide margin prompting the electrical products maker to forecast full year results above expectations.
A rumor circulated that Citigroup (NYSE: C) may be interested in purchasing Wachovia (NYSE: WB).
On the downside
Brazilian food company Sadia (NYSE: SDA) said that it lost $406 million, the amount of its annual earnings, due to volatile currency markets.Motorola (NYSE: MOT) failed to get a class action lawsuit filed by shareholders dismissed .
Shares of Braziliam mining company Vale (NYSE: RIO) dropped despite reassurances from CEO Roger Agnelli that the company is in a good market position and can weather the global financial storm.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a point to 705.
