Concerns about corporate earnings weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow losing 53 points to 14,458. Nasdaq fell 22 points to 3231.
On the upside
Shares of Aviv REIT (NYSE: AVIV) soared in its market debut.
Affymax (Nasdaq: AFFY) extended its gains after a Seeking Alpha article said yesterday that the biopharmaceutical would successfully address safety concerns of its anemia treatment Omontys.
Butamax acknowledged that Gevo (Nasdaq: GEVO) did not infringe on its patents.
On the downside
Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL) widened third quarter losses and cut its full year outlook.
Guess (NYSE: GES) reported lower fourth quarter earnings and forecast current quarter and full year results well below analyst expectations.
Tumi Holdings (NYSE: TUMI) reported higher fourth quarter earnings but revenue missed estimates and the company forecast full year earnings that fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index lost 6 points to 1552.