The markets traded flat during the midday with the Dow adding 2 points to 16,480 on a slow day. Nasdaq slipped 4 points to 4152.

On the upside

Morgan Stanley has acquired a 5.2% stake in NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ).

TheStreet listed InvenSense (NYSE: INVN) as one of four stocks poised to breakout.

Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq: RSOL) partnered with Green Lantern Capital to jointly develop 4.5 megawatts of solar projects in Vermont.

On the downside

FreeSeas (Nasdaq: FREE) will close the final tranche of a $10 million investment.

A Seeking Alpha contributor recommended that investors lock in some profits on DryShips (NYSE: DRYS).

Wall Street Cheat Sheet noted that Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) has lost much of its value and warned investors to be cautious of biotechnology firms.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE while advancers barely edged out decliners on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 2 points to 1839. Bitcoin held steady at $792.10.