An unexpected increase in jobless claims weighed the markets down to a lower open with the Dow losing 36 points to 10,702. Nasdaq added a point to 2336.
On the upside
Aspen Technology (Nasdaq: AZPN) increased its secondary offering to 18 million common shares from 15 million and priced the offering at $9.00 per share.
The Food and Drug Administratin conditionally approved a clinical trial by Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) for its next generation Edwards SAPIEN XT transcatheter heart valve.
Second quarter earnings slipped for Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) but the results topped analyst estimates.
On the downside
Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) widened second quarter losses as revenue fell prompting the drugstore chain to lower its full year revenue outlook.
Reuters reported that private equity firms balked at Novell's (Nasdaq: NOVL) asking price for its NetWare and identity management units.
BioMed Realty (NYSE: BMR) priced its offering of 15 million common shares at $17.50 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a point to 655.
