The markets retreated from early morning highs but continued to trade modestly higher with the Dow gaining 29 points to 7581 as investors searched for bargains. Nasdaq added 2 points to 1318.
On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration approved the blood clotting drug Promacta which was jointly developed by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND).
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) refinanced a convertible bond with a $1 billion loan through Standard Chartered Bank.
As part of its restructuring plan, USG (NYSE: USG) will shutter several wallboard plants to reduce capacity by 1 billion square feet.
On the downside
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) slashed its fourth quarter dividend prompting RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy to lower his earnings estimate and price target for the regional bank.
Crystal River Capital (NYSE: CRZ) blamed impairment charges for reporting a loss for the third quarter.
Although Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) reported third quarter per share earnings that topped estimates, sales disappointed.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 3 points to 382.
