The markets opened slightly higher as negotiators in Washington continued working on a budget deal. The Dow edged up 19 points to 13,040 while Nasdaq slipped 2 points to 3009.
On the upside
Shares of Ulta Salon (Nasdaq: ULTA) rose after the beauty retail chain posted higher 3rd quarter revenues and profits. Analysts promptly upgraded the stock.
Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB) named a new CEO and declared a special cash dividend of $1 a share.
Shares of Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK) surged after the women's clothing retailer posted a 3rd quarter profit on higher same-store sales.
On the downside
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) lowered its earnings outlook for the next year citing weak sales growth in China for the fast food chain.
VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) agreed to certain limitations for the pricing of domain names in an agreement with ICANN.
Shares of Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) fell after the online gaming company lost preferential treatment in its relationship with Facebook (NYSE: FB).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose rose a fraction to 823.
Investors Eye Fiscal Cliff as Markets Edge Higher
November 30, 2012 at 09:45 AM EST
