Rising Consumer Prices Weigh Down Markets

Rising consumer prices weighed down the markets to a lower open with the Dow losing 25 points to 10,569. Nasdaq held steady at 2303.

On the upside

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) entered negotiations to acquire biopharmaceutical Crucell (Nasdaq: CRXL) for approximately $2.29 billion.

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) impressed with higher first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates as revenue soared.

Seeking Alpha contributor Jeremy Richards said that Aeterna Zentaris (Nasdaq: AEZS) was undervalued and had a healthy pipeline of products.

On the downside

Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) continued to plunge after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel rejected the company's weight loss treatment Iorcaserin yesterday.

Massey Energy (Nasdaq: MEE) blamed strict enforcement fo federal regulations after a mine explosion in April for warning of a loss for the third quarter.

The Department of Labor filed a complaint against Tyson Foods (Nasdaq: TSN) for discriminating against women job applicants at an Illinois meat packing plant.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 646.