Stocks Open Mixed on Unemployment and Productivity Data

September 2, 2009 7:00 AM |
Investors stayed on the sidelines following a report on continued job losses in the private sector.  Meanwhile, worker productivity rose sharply for its best gain in six years.  The Dow lost 6 points to 9303 while Nasdaq inched higher to 1969.

On the upside 

Danaher (NYSE: DHR) offered $1.1 billion in cash and debt to take control of the mass spectrometers product line from MDS (NYSE: MDS) and Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE).

Shares of VeriFone Holdings (NYSE: PAY) rose after the electronic payment service provider posted a 3rd quarter profit that surpassed expectations.

On the downside

Shares of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) fell on the possibility that Congress may transform the two mortgage financing companies into small, private businesses.

An analyst downgraded Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) due to valuation.  The biopharmaceutical company develops flu vaccines.

Shares of Donaldson (NYSE: DCI) fell after the filtration systems maker offered guidance that missed analysts' estimates.

Communications equipment and service provider Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) announced a $1 billion convertible bond offering.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost a point to 556.

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