The markets closed mixed with the Dow losing 19 points to 10,948 as enthusiasm for upbeat same store sales was tempered by a potential international currency war that could negatively impact corporate results. Nasdaq added 3 points to 2383.

On the upside

Shares of Standard Financial (Nasdaq: STND) climbed on its first trading day on Nasdaq.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) chief executive Steve Ballmer visited Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) sparking rumors that Microsoft may be interested in acquiring Adobe.

September same store sales soared 5.1% for J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP).

On the downside

Moody's Investors Service placed Allied Irish Banks' (NYSE: AIB) mortgage bonds under review for a possible downgrade.

Gleacher & Co. analyst Yun Kim expects North American online advertising sales to have dropped in the quarter just ended for Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO).

Shares of Alcoa (NYSE: AA) fell ahead of its earnings release after market close.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 9 to 7 on Nasdaq.