The markets retreated from early morning highs as service sector growth slowed in June but continued to trade in positive territory during the midday with the Dow rising 73 points to 9760. Nasdaq gained 13 points to 2105.
On the upside
Power-One (Nasdaq: PWER) will redeem all outstanding 8% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2013.
BP (NYSE: BP) reassured investors that it will not issue new shares, allaying dilution concerns.
Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) will begin receiving regular coal shipments from the US due to a shortage of coking coal in Russa.
On the downside
Piper Jaffray analyst Auguste Richard downgraded Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) and cut his price target on the company citing the company's troubled solar unit.
Telefonica selected Verizon (NYSE: VZ) to provide wireless service in the US for its multinational corporate clients but shares of Verizon fell.
Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault lowered his price target for Ford (NYSE: F) and cut his sales outlook citing easing demand.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 598.
