Despite an unexpectedly large increase in December hiring, the markets opened mixed with the Dow losing 19 points to 11,671 while Nasdaq edged up a point to 2682.

On the upside

Qiao Xing Universal Resources (Nasdaq: XING) aquired a 34.53% interest in Chifeng Aolunhua Mining Co., which owns an open-pit copper-molybdenum mine.

Opexa Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OPXA) completed meetings with the Food and Drug Administration to advance with a Phase 3 clinical trial of its personalized T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis patients.

Vonage (NYSE: VG) chief executive Marc Lefar will present at the Citi 21st Annual Global Entertainment, Media & Telecommunications Conference.

On the downside

First quarter earnings rose for Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) but the results fell short of expectations.

Mattson Technology (Nasdaq: MTSN) warned that fourth quarter losses will be greater than expected due to shipment delays.

Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR) priced its offering of 11.5 million common shares at $7.30 per share.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 788.