Storms Threaten Economy, Markets Flat At Midday
The markets traded flat during the midday with the Dow rising 7 points to 12,047 as the worst storm in decades threatened to temporarily halt the economy in the Midwest and Northeast. Nasdaq held steady at 2751.
On the upside
Acme Packet (Nasdaq: APKT) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that topped estimates as revenue surged and the company lifted its 2011 guidance above analyst expectations.
Fourth quarter earnings rose for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) to beat expectations prompting the media company to increase its dividend and forecast 2011 results ahead of estimates.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) invested in video-on-demand site Voddler.
On the downside
Pacific Crest Securities downgraded Axcelis Technologies (Nasdaq: ACLS) to an Underperform rating.
Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) blamed mortgage insurance losses for swinging to an unexpected loss for the fourth quarter.Hospira (NYSE: HSP) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that fell far short of analyst expectations as revenue dropped and the company forecast 2011 results below estimates.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points 796.
