On the upside
In a preliminary agreement, Nordea Bank Finland will provide a covenant waiver to DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) for $800 million in debt and defer principal repayment.Unofficial reports that the economic stimulus plan will include provisions to purchase more troubled assets from banks in partnership with the private sector boosted shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).
Shares of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) climbed after co-chief executives Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha both purchased shares in the company.
On the downside
Mercy General (NYSE: MCY) swung to a loss for the fourth quarter due to lower premiums and significant investment losses.Administaff (NYSE: ASF) reported lower fourth quarter income that fell short of expectations as interest rates dropped.
UBS downgraded Sunstone Hotel (NYSE: SHO).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and while decliners edged out advancers by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 3 points to 468.
