The nation's economic growth slowed in the second quarter to a pace of 1.6% but the markets opened higher with the Dow rising 21 points to 10,007 as investors welcomed even a modest expansion of the troubled economy. Nasdaq added 3 points to 2122.
On the upside
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) increased its offer for 3Par (NYSE: PAR) to $1.88 billion after Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) raised its offer to match HP's previous bid of $1.69 billion.
Second quarter earnings for Netezza (NYSE: NZ) surged four-fold to surpass analyst expectations as revenue climbed and the data storage company lifted its full year revenue growth.
Aruba Networks (Nasdaq: ARUN) swung to a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter as the company increased customers.
On the downside
The Food and Drug Administration denied accelerated approval for Immunogen's (Nasdaq: IMGN) breast cancer treatment T-DM1.
Although J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) reported sharply higher second quarter earnings that beat expecations, the specialty retailer lowered its full year guidance.
Second quarter earnings for Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) rose but revenue fell short of estimates.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a point to 597.
