A disappointing 0.2% gain in July retail sales weighed the markets down to a lower open with the Dow dropping 64 points to 15,355. Nasdaq fell 18 points to 3651.
On the upside
Digital Generation (Nasdaq: DGIT) will sell its television ad delivery business to Extreme Reach for approximately $485 million.
Osiris Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OSIR) reported overwhelmingly positive results for Grafix in treating chronic diabetic foot ulcers.
Arotech (Nasdaq: ARTX) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the second quarter as revenue rose and lifted its full year guidance.
On the downside
OCZ Technology (Nasdaq: OCZ) will raise approximately $13 million through a private placement.
Orbitz Worldwide's (NYSE: OWW) largest shareholder, PAR Capital Management, sold 8.1 million of its 24.6 million shares.
Activist investor William Ackman resigned from the board of JC Penney (NYSE: JCP).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 5 points to 1683.