Higher Open As Debt Discussions Commence In Europe

The markets opened higher with the Dow rising 12 points to 11,445 as debt discussions commenced in Europe. Nasdaq held steady at 2607.

On the upside

RPX (NYSE: RPXC) priced its follow-on offering of 3 million common shares at the discounted price of $20.49 per share.

Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) announced that expansion and modernization plans are fully funded and discussions to secure financing with Sumitomo have ended.

Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA), maker of the diet drug Lorcaserin, rose after Vivus announced that it was resubmitting a new application for Qnexa.

On the downside

Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) disappointed with sharply lower second quarter earnings that fell short of expectations on weak smartphone and tablet sales. 

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) warned that third quarter production will fall while the average cost per ton of coal will rise.

Zogenix (Nasdaq: ZGNX) priced its public offering of 30 million common shares at the discounted price of $2.00 per share.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a fraction to 713.