The markets closed flat with the Dow slipping 5 points to 15,440 as investors weighed a disappointing jobs report against upbeat service sector activity. Nasdaq fell 19 points to 4011.
On the upside
Dealreporter said that Sprint (NYSE: S) was finalizing deals to raise $45 billion in order to make an acquisition offer for T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS).
Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRPT) reported positive interim results for a Phase IIb study of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment eteplirsen.
Radian Group (NYSE: RDN) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter.
On the downside
A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote that demand for compressed natural gas was much greater than liquified natural gas that Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE) supports.
PDL BioPharma (Nasdaq: PDLI) will offer $250 million worth of new convertible senior notes.
Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) reported lower second quarter earnings.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 3 points to 1751. Bitcoin lost $35.02 or 3.91% to $894.88.