Rising Gas Prices Weigh Markets Down At Midday

Rising gasoline prices weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow slipping 32 points to 12,473. Nasdaq held steady at 2820.

On the upside

ZST Digital Networks (Nasdaq: ZSTN) denied allegations of fraud made by short-sellers.

First quarter earnings for Ultratech (Nasdaq: UTEK) surged nearly fourfold as revenue soared.

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE: GPK) reported sharply higher first quarter earnings that more than quadrupled.

On the downside

Avid Technology (Nasdaq: AVID) disappointed with an unexpected loss for the first quarter.

Pharmasset (Nasdaq: VRUS) blamed higher expenses for widening second quarter losses.

Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS) narrowed first quarter losses but the results fell far short of analyst expectations.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 3 points to 842.