Possible Rate Increase In China Weighs Down Markets
A possible interest rate increase in China weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow losing 25 points to 11,799. Nasdaq tumbled 25 points to 2699.
On the upside
Biolase Technology (Nasdaq: BLTI) expects to post a profit for the fourth quarter.
Perrigo (Nasdaq: PRGO) will pay approximately $540 million to acquire generic drug company Paddock Laboratories.
Fourth quarter earnings rose for ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ESI) to surpass analyst expectations.
On the downside
Piper Jaffray downgraded Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) to a Neutral rating.
Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM) reviewed results from two clinical studies and announced plans to conduct two Phase 3 trials but the stock price fell.Westell Technologies (Nasdaq: WSTL) reported higher third quarter earnings but the stock price fell.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 7 points to 779.
