Uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s decision to delay tapering weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow losing 34 points to 15,642. Nasdaq edged up a point to 3785.
On the upside
Shares of Acceleron Pharma (Nasdaq: XLRN) soared on its first trading day.
China announced new energy vehicle subsidies for 2013-2015 which sent shares of electric vehicle maker Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI) soaring.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan upgraded Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) from a Hold rating to a Buy rating.
On the downside
BPZ Resources (NYSE: BPZ) priced its offering of convertible senior notes.
Profit taking sank shares of Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY).
Morgan Stanley downgraded Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) from an Equal Weight rating to an Underweight rating.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped 3 points to 1722.
