Private employers added fewer jobs than expected in March to weigh the markets down to a lower open with the Dow losing 31 points to 14,631. Nasdaq fell 9 points to 3245.
On the upside
Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) launched two online real money gambling games in Britain today.
Magnum Hunter (NYSE: MHR) will sell its interest in the Eagle Ford Shale properties to Penn Virginia (NYSE: PVA) for approximately $401 million.
Magicjack Vocaltec (Nasdaq: CALL) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the fourth quarter as revenue soared.
On the downside
Mindspeed Technologies (Nasdaq: MSPD) warned that second quarter revenue would fall short of expectations.
Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) announced a leasing program for its Model S sedan but the stock price dropped.
Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue but the results fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index lost 6 points to 1564.