Lower Open Even As Consumer Sentiment Climbs
October 26, 2012 at 02:42 AM EDT
October consumer sentiment climbed to a five year high but the markets opened lower with the Dow slipping 8 points to 13,095. Nasdaq held steady at 2986.On the upsideArch Coal (NYSE: ACI) reported sharply higher third quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations by a wide margin.First quarter earnings dropped for DeVry (NYSE: DV) but the results surpassed expectations.Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) reported lower third quarter earnings but the results topped analyst estimates. On the downsideVeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue but company’s renewal contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is still being reviewed by the Commerce Department.The Food and Drug Administration denied a Formal Dispute Resolution Request related to Columbia Laboratories’ (Nasdaq: CBRX) and Watson Pharmaceuticals’ (NYSE: WPI) New Drug Application for their preterm birth prevention treatment Prochieve.Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) to a Hold rating.In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a point to 815.
