The markets opened lower as investors mulled over the latest batch
of earnings news. The Dow lost 62 points to 12,786 while Nasdaq fell 5 points to 2397.
On the upside
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) posted higher earnings due to strong sales of its Transformer and Littlest Pet Shop toys.Shares of Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) jumped to a record high after the company reported earnings that tripled due to higher production and soaring prices.
Shares of Pilgrim's Pride (NYSE: PPC) rose following an analyst upgrade of the stock citing higher chicken prices through 2009.
On the downside
Shares of National City (NYSE: NCC) fell after the bank posted a loss and raised $6 billion from private equity firms to shore up its balance sheet significantly diluting existing shareholders.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) posted a smaller profit while setting aside $3.3 billion in reserves for portfolio losses.
Mattel (NYSE: MAT) reported a loss on slowing sales of Barbie dolls. The toymaker blamed higher product costs and legal fees for missing analysts' expectations of a profit of a penny per share
Analysts downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) on valuation.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by
a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 5 to 3 on Nasdaq.
The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 3 points to 717.
