April new home construction tumbled to weigh the markets down to a lower open with the Dow losing 35 points 12,512. Nasdaq slipped 2 points to 2779.
On the upside
First quarter earnings slipped for Sino Clean Energy (Nasdaq: SCEI) but revenue climbed and the company affirmed its full year outlook.
Gulf Resources (Nasdaq: GFRE) impressed with sharply higher first quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.
Saks (NYSE: SKS) reported higher first quarter earnings as revenue rose.
On the downside
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) reported higher first quarter earnings but the travel service forecast second quarter results below expectations.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) reported higher second quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates but the company lowered its full year guidance amidst a challenging global economy.
Douglas Dynamics (NYSE: PLOW) priced its secondary offering of 5 million common shares at the discounted price of $14.50 per share.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped a point to 821.
