The markets traded near the flatline ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Dow added a point to 9066 while Nasdaq slipped 9 points to 1641.
On the upside
Although Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) swung to a second quarter loss due to a significant write-down, analysts said that the results could have been much worse.Arris Group (Nasdaq: ARRS) reported third quarter earnings that topped estimates as margin improved and forecast fourth quarter results ahead of expectations.
Higher revenue boosted third quarter income for Nexen (NYSE: NXY). Separately, the Canadian energy producer named Marvin Romanow to replace president, chief executive and director Charlie Fischer when he retires at the end of the year.
On the downside
Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE) announced plans to raise $35 million through the sale of common stock and warrants.Analysts downgraded Ultimate Software (Nasdaq: ULTI) after the company swung to a third quarter loss.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) blamed sluggish sales for slashing profit and sales forecasts for the third quarter, fourth quarter as well as the full year.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 484.
