The markets opened lower with the Dow slipping 9 points to 14,767 on mixed corporate earnings. Nasdaq fell 27 points to 3667.
On the upside
Jos. A. Bank (Nasdaq: JOSB) made an unsolicited bid of $48 per share in cash to acquire Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW).
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the third quarter.
Saks chief executive Stephen Sadove will join J.C. Penney's (NYSE: JCP) board.
On the downside
The Food and Drug Administration placed a hold on enrollment in all drug trials of Ariad Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: ARIA) cancer treatment Iclusig.
CytRx (Nasdaq: CYTR) priced its public offering of 10 million common shares at the discounted price of $2.25 per share.
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) disappointed with sharply lower third quarter earnings that fell far short of analyst expectations prompting the company to lower its full year outlook.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 eased a point to 1654.
