The markets traded mixed during the midday ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting tomorrow. The Dow rose 13 points to 11,855 while Nasdaq lost 6 points to 2400.
On the upside
Barrier Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BTRX) will be acquired for approximately $148 million in cash by privately held Stiefel Laboratories.Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP) will purchase a 50% non operated interest in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale site.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Kurt Hallead upgraded National Oilwell (NYSE: NOV) and lifted his price target for the oilfield services company saying that revenue is expected to rise.
On the downside
Circuit City (NYSE: CC) last week reported that first quarter losses widened due to lower sales and warned that second quarter losses will be greater than expected.Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) disappointed with a wider than expected loss for the first quarter.
Capital Source (NYSE: CSE) reported that it sold $1.5 billion in mortgage backed securities at a loss of $36 million.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 723.
