The markets closed modestly lower with the Dow slipping 17 points to 12,845 as debt negotiations in Greece continued. Nasdaq lost 3 points to 2901.
On the upside
DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) unit Ocean Rig won a $653 million contract to drill 15 wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Orexigen (Nasdaq: OREX) reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment for the outcomes trial of its obesity treatment Contrave.
Fitch revised its outlook for Meritor (NYSE: MTOR) to Positive.
On the downside
Several law firms announced class action lawsuits against Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) for false and misleading statements about its Mountain Pass mine development.
Qihoo 360 Technology (NYSE: QIHU) applications have been removed from the Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) App Store.
CPI’s (Nasdaq: CPI) average market capitalization dropped below the minimum threshold to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq over the counter market on February 9.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 2 points to 828.
