On the upside
An Israeli newspaper reported that generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA) is in discussions to acquire rival Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL).
Shares of Wachovia (NYSE: WB) surged along with the banking sector rally despite a special inspection by several state securities regulators investigating the company's auction rate securities practices.
Office furniture and hearth products maker HNI (NYSE: HNI) reported a drop in second quarter earnings but the results surpassed expectations.
On the downside
Second quarter earnings for factory built home company Champion Enterprises (NYSE: CHB) tumbled to fall far short of expectations due to the housing market slump.Although Nucor (NYSE: NUE) reported higher second quarter earnings, the steel maker forecast third quarter results below expectations.
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) announced that its tender offer is priced at $22.00 per share.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 10 points to 697.
