First time applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but the markets opened lower with the Dow losing 19 points to 13,054 over concerns about the health of Spain’s economy. Nasdaq slipped 2 points to 3065.
On the upside
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SPPI) will pay a premium of approximately $206 million to acquire Allos Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ALTH).
Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) reported higher fourth quarter earrings that surpassed analyst expectations as revenue rose.
Shares of Cleantech Solutions (Nasdaq: CLNT) continued climbing after a Seeking Alpha contributor wrote yesterday that investors expected the stock to advance even further.
On the downside
Galena Biopharma (Nasdaq: GALE) priced its public offering of 8.5 million common shares at the discounted price of $1.50 per share.
Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) priced its offering of 25 million common shares at the discounted price of $2.00 per share.
Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) warned that first quarter earnings and revenue will fall short of expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 819.
