A larger than expected drop in durable goods orders weighed the markets down to a lower open with the Dow slipping 19 points to 14,699. Nasdaq lost 8 points to 3260.
On the upside
Georgia-Pacific will pay a premium of $37.50 per share in cash to acquire Buckeye Technologies (NYSE: BKI) in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion.
Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) impressed with first quarter earnings that more than doubled to surpass analyst expectations as revenue rose.
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) reported lower first quarter earnings but the results were better than expected.
On the downside
Vocus (Nasdaq: VOCS) reported a wider than expected loss for the first quarter and forecast current quarter as well as full year results below analyst estimates.
A large patent litigation payment from Medtronic lifted first quarter earnings for Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) but the company lowered its full year guidance.
Unisys (NYSE: UIS) fell to a loss for the first quarter as revenue dropped.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index eased a fraction to 1577.
