A drop in small business optimism weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow falling 64 points to 15,718. Nasdaq lost 12 points to 3907.
On the upside
InterOil (NYSE: IOC) fell to a loss for the third quarter but revenue surpassed analyst expectations.
On Track Innovations (Nasdaq: OTIV) received purchase orders totaling more than $1 million for its EasyFuel Plus solution.
Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) will pay approximately $775 million to acquire the ownership interests of ACON Investment and TPG in Northern Tier Energy (NYSE: NTI).
On the downside
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) disappointed with lower third quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations as expenses climbed.
Dolan (NYSE: DM) fell to a third quarter loss as revenue dropped.
Third quarter earnings plunged for Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE: HNR) due to an impairment charge.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 8 points to 1763.