Disappointing economic data weighed down the markets to a lower close with the Dow losing 27 points to 17,730. Nasdaq slipped 3 points to 5,009.

On the upside

Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR) announced a new quarterly dividend beginning with a distribution of 25 cents per share payable on September 9, 2015 to shareholders of record August 19, 2015. The company also approved a plan to repurchase up to 7.5 million shares of common stock.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against The Medicines Co. (Nasdaq: MDCO) in its patent suit against Hospira (NYSE: HSP) but the stock price climbed.
 
An appeals court reversed part of a patent infringement judgment against ION Geophysical (NYSE: IO).

On the downside

Wells Fargo downgraded Triple-S Management (NYSE: GTS) from a Market Perform rating to an Underperform rating.

Barclays slashed its price target on Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) from $80 to $43 while Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the company from a Buy rating to a Neutral rating.

Shares of Zogenix (Nasdaq: ZGNX) fell after completing its reverse stock split yesterday.
 
In the broad market, advancing issues edged out decliners by a slim margin on the NYSE while decliners outpaced advancers by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 eased a fraction to 2076. Bitcoin held steady at $254.