The nation's private employers added more jobs than expected in November but the markets opened mixed with the Dow slipping 7 points to 17,881 while Nasdaq gained 15 points to 5,171 over concerns of an impending rate hike.
On the upside
On Deck Capital (NYSE: ONDK) partnered with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) to offer small business loans.
Mattson Technology (Nasdaq: MTSN) will be acquired by Beijing E-Town Dragon Semiconductor Industry Investment Center for a premium of $3.80 per shares in cash.
Qualcom (Nasdaq: QCOM) licensed patents to Xiaomi to develop, manufacture and sell 3G and 4G devices.
On the downside
A second patient died in a late stage clinical trial of Zafgen's (Nasdaq: ZFGN) obesity treatment beloranib.
Shares of Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP) completed its 2-for-1 stock split.
Breitburn Energy Partners (Nasdaq: BBEP) stock continued to fall.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 edged up a fraction to 2,103. Bitcoin lost $3 to $357.
