The markets opened mixed with the Dow rising 7 points to 12,602 while Nasdaq slipped 2 points to 2844 as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's assessment of the nation's economy.
On the upside
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) will acquire Savvis (Nasdaq: SVVS) in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $2.5 billion.
First quarter earnings slipped for Corning (NYSE: GLW) but revenue soared and the results topped analyst estimates.
Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC) reported higher first quarter sales and income that surpassed analyst expectations.
On the downside
While Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) reported first quarter earnings that beat expectations, the chip maker forecast second quarter results below estimates.
Third quarter earnings for MIPS Technologies (Nasdaq: MIPS) fell short of analyst expectations and the chip maker warned of lower fourth quarter royalty revenue.
LDK Solar (Nasdaq: LDK) lowered its first quarter revenue outlook.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 850.
