Lower Open As Consumer Spending Drops

The markets opened lower with the Dow falling 65 points to 12,066 as consumer spending dropped in June. Nasdaq slipped 5 points to 2738.

On the upside

Second quarter earnings surged for Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) to surpass analyst expectations as subscribers increased.

OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) swung to a loss for the second quarter but the results were better than expected.

Radian Group (NYSE: RDN) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the second quarter.

On the downside

MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) reported higher second quarter earnings but the results fell short of analyst expectations.

Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco (NYSE: ITUB) blamed higher expenses for second quarter earnings that missed estimates.

Second quarter earnings rose for Ferro (NYSE: FOE) but the results fell short of analyst expectations.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 795.