On the upside
Shares of American Capital (Nasdaq: ACAS) surged over optimism that the company will be able to renegotiate the terms of its loans.
The U. S. government awarded Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) and three other firms a loan servicing contract for $550 billion in student loans.
Shares of Cigna (NYSE: CI) and Health Net (NYSE: HNT) rose as Congressional committees working on health care reform fell behind schedule.
On the downside
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) reported that global sales plunged 43% in the quarter ended May.
Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) will offer 15 million shares of common stock to raise capital in order to pay down debt.
While first quarter earnings for Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) rose to beat expectations as sales climbed, the BlackBerry maker forecast disappointing second quarter results.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 4 to 3 on the NYSE and by a margin of 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 2 points to 509.
