The markets opened lower with the Dow tumbling 80 points to 12,897 after China lowered its 2012 growth target. Nasdaq fell 17 points to 2958.
On the upside
A Seeking Alpha article on Friday said that Keryx (Nasdaq: KERX) and Aeterna Zentarix (Nasdaq: AEZS) are expected to report upbeat results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of their cancer treatment Perifosine.
Archipelago Learning (Nasdaq: ARCL) will be acquired by Plato Learning for approximately $291 million in cash.
Shares of Sino Clean Energy (Nasdaq: SCEI) continued surging after an independent auditor reported last week that the company’s financials were unlikely to have been misstated.
On the downside
Workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s (NYSE: FCX) Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia will refuse to return to work.
US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) reported increased traffic and load factor but the stock price slipped.
J. P. Morgan downgraded Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) to a Neutral rating citing its recent valuation surge.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 801.
