Markets Modestly Higher Lifted By Bargain Hunters

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.