It was a mixed close for the markets with the Dow slipping 13 points while Nasdaq added 6 points to 2649. Downgrades of Irish banks tempered enthusiasm for passage of the tax cut extensions last week.
On the upside
TheStreet.com listed Ariad Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARIA) as one of the top 10 stock picks for 2011 that is under $5.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM) completed enrollment of patients in a Phase II clinical trial of its brain cancer treatment Cotara.
WSP Holdings (NYSE: WH) subsidiary Wuxi Seamless Oil Pipes received twenty six new orders from Venezuelan oil company PDVSA Services for casing pipe, tubing pipe and line pipe.
On the downside
Competitors of E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (Nasdaq: DANG) launched a price war to lure holiday shoppers.
Ultrapetrol (Nasdaq: ULTR) will sell $60 million in convertible senior notes.
WiseWindow's Holiday Preference Index listed Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone over Research in Motion's (NYSE: RIMM) Blackberry device as the most popular smartphone preference among consumers.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 782.