New orders for durable goods rose less than expected in February to weigh the markets down during the midday with the Dow losing 43 points to 13,153. Nasdaq dropped 14 points to 3105.
On the upside
Speculation that Glu Mobile (Nasdaq: GLUU) may be acquired lifted share of the mobile gaming company.
Dahlman Rose upgraded Teekay Tankers (NYSE: TNK) to a Buy rating.
Dahlman Rose upgraded Frontline (NYSE: FRO) to a Buy rating.
On the downside
Deutsche Bank downgraded A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE) to a Hold rating.
Synnex (NYSE: SNX) reported higher first quarter earnings but forecast second quarter results that fell short of expectations prompting a downgrade
Swisher Hygiene (Nasdaq: SWSH) delayed filing its fourth quarter and annual report and may need to restate prior financials.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 5 points to 834.