On the upside
Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) offered to acquire Millipore (NYSE: MIL) for approximately $6 billion.
Green Plains Renewable (Nasdaq: GPRE) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the fourth quarter.
Shares of Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) continued to rise after reporting on Friday fourth quarter earnings that topped estimates.
On the downside
Unconfirmed reports surfaced that orders for Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) Blackberry Storm were being cancelled or cut.
Morgan Joseph analyst Shiv Kapoor downgraded Gilead (Nasdaq: GILD) to a Sell rating saying that patents for five of the company's major drugs will expire at the end of the decade.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Graco (NYSE: GGG) to a rating of Sell due to concerns of a strengthening dollar.
In the broad market, advancing issues barely outpaced decliners by a slim margin on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks edged up a fraction to 632.
