Comments from the Bush administration that it may facilitate orderly bankruptcies of the auto industry weighed down the markets during the midday with the Dow losing 42 points to 8782. Nasdaq held steady at 1579.
On the upside
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) will pay up to $485 million to jointly develop and market Auxilium Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: AUXL) experimental treatment for Dupuytren's contracture and Peyronie's disease.Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) developed with Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) a new technology that extended the lifespan of flash-based storage.
XL Capital (NYSE: XL) opened a regional office in Atlanta for its insurance operations.
On the downside
Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY) lowered its fourth quarter production outlook as oil prices continued falling.
Adolor (Nasdaq: ADLR) halted development of its Entereg drug to treat chronic bowel dysfunction in patients on opioid therapy.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 488.