Private employers added fewer than expected employees to their payrolls to weigh down the markets during the midday with the Dow tumbling 94 points to 9637. Nasdaq dropped 16 points to 2084.
On the upside
In a late stage clinical trial, Genentech's (NYSE: DNA) ovarian cancer treatment Avastin extended patient survival rate.
Analysts speculated that Sanofi-Aventis may be interested in acquiring Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB).
Juniper Networks' (NYSE: JNPR) recently acquired Ankeena Networks was selected as a Red Herring Top 100 company.
On the downside
Helix Energy (NYSE: HLX) is finalizing reserve estimates for possible divestiture of its oil and gas business.
Delta (NYSE: DAL) expanded service to Africa in response to a strong demand but the stock price fell.
Wilshire Bancorp (Nasdaq: WIBC) blamed loan losses for warning of losses for the second quarter.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 7 points to 597.
