Markets Mixed Over Weak Sales
The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow slipping 22 points to 10,227 over weak May retail sales. Nasdaq added 5 points to 2286.
On the upside
Raymond James analyst Collin Gerry upgraded Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO) saying that the company was a shallow water driller and will be mostly unaffected by the moratorium on deep water drilling.
Origin Agritech (Nasdaq: SEED) acquired an 80% stake in agricultural chemical producer Shandong Kunfeng Biochemical in China.
First quarter same store sales surged 14.3% for Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR).
On the downside
Coldwater Creek (Nasdaq: CWTR) reported an unexpected profit for the first quarter but women's apparel retailer warned of a second quarter loss prompting a downgrade.
Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) narrowed second quarter losses but revenue fell short of expectations.
As Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) prepares to explore the mine where 29 workers were killed in an April explosion, an activist group is urging prosecutors to charge the company manslaughter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 665.
