Mixed Open As Jobless Claims Drop
Civil unrest continued in Libya but investors turned their attention to a greater than expected drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits. The markets opened mixed with the Dow losing 20 points to 12,085 while Nasdaq climbed 15 points to 2738.
On the upside
Shares of Royale Energy (Nasdaq: ROYL) continued climbing after receiving approval yesterday to begin production at the Goddard #2 well in Colusa County, California.
Fourth quarter earnings surged for Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) to surpass analyst estimates and forecast current quarter results ahead of expectations.
NetEase.com (Nasdaq: NTES) reported higher fourth quarter earnings as revenue climbed.
On the downside
Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) expects to receive a Complete Response Letter from the Food and Drug Administration for its non-constipation irritable bowel syndrome treatment XIFAXAN.
E-trade (Nasdaq: ETFC) announced a secondary offering of 23.95 million common shares priced at $16 per share.Magna International (NYSE: MGA) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the fourth quarter but the results fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 804.
