Markets Slip As Oil Advances

On the upside 

Avanir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR) reported that its Phase III double-blind clinical trial of its multiple sclerosis treatment Zenvia met expectations.

FBR Capital Markets upgraded Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN).

Analysts expect McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) to report upbeat third quarter results as the advertising slump begins to recover and the newspaper company slashed expenses.

On the downside

Jefferies & Co. upgraded Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA).

Tower Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TSEM) chief executive Russell Ellwanger does not expect the company to be profitable until the second half of 2010.

Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) disappointed with a larger than expected drop in third quarter revenue.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 4 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 3 points to 610.