The markets turned negative during the midday with the Dow falling 49 points to 11,816 as uncertainty surrounded the death and succession of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. Nasdaq dropped 11 points to 2544.
On the upside
Analysts lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD).
Shares of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) continued rising after the pharmaceutical declared a quarterly dividend and announced a stock repurchase plan last week.
Canaccord said that the sell-off of Inhibitex (Nasdaq: INHX) on Friday offered investors a buying opportunity.
On the downside
TheStreet listed U. S. Steel (NYSE: X) as one of the ten worst performing S&P 500 stocks of 2011.
Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) launched its first line, the blooming concaster #5, which will supply the universal rolling mill with billets but the stock price fell.
Vistaprint (Nasdaq: VPRT) will pay approximately $117.5 million in cash and stock to acquire Webs.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 4 points to 717.
