On the upside
Third quarter earnings for Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) plunged by half but the results topped analyst estimates.
Sonic Solutions (Nasdaq: SNIC) and Entone announced a partnership to deliver a comprehensive entertainment solution powered by Roxio CinemaNow.
Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV) said that a tax law change will result in a tax benefit in the first two quarters of 2010.
On the downside
Helicos BioSciences (Nasdaq: HLCS) will no longer sell itself but will continue to consider other strategic alternatives to increase shareholder value.
Although third quarter earnings rose for Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO), revenue fell short of estimates due to heavy discounting and the company cut its guidance for the year.
Pike Electric (NYSE: PIKE) disappointed by swinging to a wider than expected loss for the first quarter prompting the company to withdraw its outlook .
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 5 points to 592.