On the upside
To boost liquidity, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) successfully funded its $600 million bond public offering.
Helicos BioSciences (Nasdaq: HLCS) sold 4 genetic analysis systems to a Japanese firm.
Opexa Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OPXA) reported positive results for its vaccine treatment of multiple sclerosis.
On the downside
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) offered about $16 billion to acquire U.K.-based Cadbury PLC (NYSE: CBY) which promptly rejected the bid as too low.
Shares of Osiris Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OSIR) tumbled after its two stem cell drug candidates failed in late-stage studies.
Credit Suisse downgraded American International Group (NYSE: AIG), a beleaguered insurer whose asset sales may leave a core business with "little to no value" for common shareholders.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 4 points to 573.
