The nation's unemployment rate fell in December but the markets opened lower with the Dow falling 52 points to 12,363 as global economic concerns continued to weigh on investors. Nasdaq eased a point to 2668.
On the upside
Shares of Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) continued climbing after announcing yesterday that sales of its prostate cancer treatment Provenge surpassed expectations.
Sandridge Eenrgy (NYSE: SD) filed yesterday for the initial public offering of SandRidge Mississippian Trust II.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) whose stock price tumbled yesterday when the book seller said that it may spin off its Nook e-reader business.
On the downside
RF Micro Devices (Nasdaq: RFMD) warned that third quarter revenue will fall short of expectations prompting downgrades.
Vical (Nasdaq: VICL) priced its public offering of approximately 13 million common shares at the discounted price of $3.75 per share.
Synta (Nasdaq: SNTA) priced its public offering of 7 million shares of common stock at the discounted price of $4.40 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 749.
