On the upside
The European Union ended its antitrust case against Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) which agreed to present users with up to a dozen browser options other than its own Internet Explorer.
Shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACHN) soared after the drug research company announced positive trial data for its hepatitis drug treatment.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE: DTG) expected quarterly and full-year profits to be in the black again.
On the downside
The Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit against chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) for anti-competitive tactics.
Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME) offered $215 million to buy the assets of Edge Petroleum paving the way for the latter to exit bankruptcy protection.
Genetic sequencing company Helicos BioSciences (Nasdaq: HLCS) raised $6.4 million by issuing new shares at $1 each.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 6 points to 612.
